Farther Away, THE SEQUEL!
by Ryous lil Tenshi
Summary: Muahahahaha... Seven years after Sadahiro tried to kidnap Ryou, he recieves a parole for good behaviour. Bakura's worst fears are confirmed when Sadahiro breaks his parole, hellbent on revenge for the people who imprisoned him. [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

Wow! Look! It's a sequel to Farther Away! Hehe. Those holding their breath can go and get CPR now. xD

Disclaimer: Dont own it...

* * *

Ryou hummed to himself, gently tapping his finger against the steering wheel of his car in time to the music that played from the stereo. Although the outside world was full of honking horns, people swearing, and petrol fumes, the inside of Ryou's car was calm and serene. _Rush hour traffic_… The whitenette sighed. _Lovely_…

He didn't mind the traffic jams though, after all, they were certainly a part of everyday life. Ryou sighed, biting his lip softly. _Although I swear some of these people are slow on purpose_… But Ryou didn't mind the drive, though. This year of college was his last (and hardest), and on top of that his part-time job at the café had just been extended. (Not that Ryou minded the extra money). These moments were the precious few he really had to himself. Ryou liked to relax, and think about the past.

It had been seven years since the dramas with Sadahiro and Kiyoshi, and Ryou was amazed at how much he and Bakura had grown up. Bakura, true to his word, found a part-time job as an apprentice mechanic a month after Ryou's kidnapping, and despite what he said, he enjoyed it. Well, he must have, considering that he'd been in the same garage for these past seven years. He'd risen through the ranks to become a full-time worker. Not just a full-time worker, but one of the most skilled and highly-paid workers in the garage. Bakura's high wages meant that two years ago, Ryou and Bakura were able to move into a larger two bedroom apartment closer to the Bakura's work (Although, unfortunately, was on the other side of town for Ryou's college and part-time job). And in a couple of months, Ryou would have finished his psychology degree, and get a full-time job as a therapist.

So, all in all, yeah, life was pretty good.

A smile spread across Ryou's face at the thought. Who knew that everything would end up working out so well? The whitenette bit his lip, and turned the music up higher. His building was only a block away. _Go green, come on, go green..._ Ryou smiled softly. _Finally!_

Ryou drove down the street, tapping his finger to the beat. What Ryou called a 'refined taste in music,' Bakura called, 'Pansy crap.' _But then again, I've heard what they blare in that garage all day long. So much heavy metal should blow their eardrums..._

"Here we go." Ryou turned into the car park. _I think it's so convenient, having a park underground_. _At the old apartment it cost so much money to park them in a meter_… Ryou drove into his special slot, one of two marked with 12-B (His apartment). He slammed the door of his Toyota behind him, and grabbed his backpack. _Bakura should be home in half an hour_…_ And he'll be hungry. I need to make him something._ Ryou ran across the car-park, and over to the elevator.

When Ryou unlocked the door to his apartment and pushed it open, He was met with a pleasant surprise. _Bakura_? The whitenette blinked at his lover, who stood in the main area of the apartment, where the kitchen, dining room, and living room were combined.

"Wh-What's going on?" Ryou gasped, his mouth falling open. "Y-You told me that you had to work tonight…" The yami chuckled, and walked towards the light, taking the backpack out of Ryou's hand and dropping it to the floor.

"I lied." He purred, before pressing his lips against Ryou's. The whitenette's eyes widened, and then he smiled. Ryou wrapped his arms fiercely around Bakura's neck when the yami broke apart, burying his head in Bakura's shirt. "I wanted to take you out. I've got some good news." Ryou blinked.

"Um… Okay…" Ryou stood away from the yami, and smoothed down a few stray hairs atop his snowy white hair. "I suppose I'd better get changed then…"

"Why?" Bakura stopped Ryou with a hand on his shoulder. "You look beautiful." The younger of the pair couldn't suppress the wide smile spreading across his face. "You do."

"You're too much." Ryou sighed, tilting his head to one side. Bakura only rolled his eyes.

"So I'm not allowed to tell the man I love how pretty he is?" Bakura looped his arm around Ryou's waist, earning a squeak from the male. "Now come on, we gotta leave now. I made reservations."

* * *

"You didn't have to get up a table here." Ryou smiled across the candlelit table at the yami. "The Chez Maurice is so expensive…" Bakura only put down his fork, and reached across the table, squeezing the light's hand.

"Nothing's too good for you, Ryou." He said softly. "Even if I laid the world at your feet, it wouldn't be enough." Ryou blushed, and looked down.

"I-I meant that, I'm not sure we can afford it." Ryou said softly. "I mean, we do live comfortably, but-"

"Yes we can." Bakura gave one of his rare smiles across the table at his white-haired lover. "I had a talk with the boss today, Ryou. I'm getting a big raise, _and_ a Christmas bonus!" Ryou almost dropped his fork, his mouth falling open.

"A-Are you serious?" The light breathed, his eyes catching the candle flame and lighting up. Bakura only chuckled and nodded, locking fingers with Ryou. "Oh, Bakura, that's so great! Who knew that you'd be so successful?" This time, the yami blushed, very lightly, and looked down at his plate. "I'm so proud of you…" He sighed. Bakura only coughed.

"Well… It's only because half of the losers there can't tell a spanner from a wrench, I swear. Monkeys are more intelligent than them." Ryou smiled. "It keeps me busy during the day, and puts food on the table."

"Just admit you like what you do, Bakura." The whitenette sighed. "I know you do." Bakura only stuck his tongue out childishly. "Oh, how mature."

"Shut up and eat your ravioli, Ryou." Bakura smirked. Ryou giggled. "Oh… And, there is something else, too." The light blinked. "Um… You know my boss? Well… He has a vacation in a few days, and he'll be gone for just over two weeks… And guess what?"

"What?" Ryou frowned slightly. He thought he could guess, but he wanted Bakura to say it himself. The yami sighed.

"I'm taking over the garage while he's gone, so I'll be running everything." Ryou grinned. "It means longer hours, but…"

"Oh, yami, that's great!" Ryou's smile was as wide as the sky. "Oh, that's brilliant!" Bakura still held hands with Ryou, and he squeezed the long bony digits. "You're just too much…"

"I think we should get a bottle of Champagne to celebrate." Bakura announced. "What do you think, Ryou?" The light tilted his head to one side, surveying his darker half through half-lidded eyes.

"I think you're the greatest person in the whole world." He murmured with a sigh.

* * *

"Woah!" Ryou giggled as Bakura unlocked the door with his little lover in his arms. "Ba-Bakura, I-I think that-" He yelped as Bakura kicked the apartment door shut behind him, and marched across the large, but narrow apartment to their shared bedroom, holding Ryou in his arms, bridal style. Ryou squeaked as he was gently thrown on the bed, sinking into the mattress with a giggle.

"I need to piss." Bakura straightened himself and ran towards the bathroom. Ryou sighed, and rolled over.

"Charming." He murmured, and reached for the television remote, biting his lower lip. _I'll be able to catch the late-night news report_. Ryou rolled himself over again on the bed, and propped himself up on his elbows, before turning on the television. He switched it over to the news channel, listening to the late night news report.

"_And, a little closer to home_," The news reporter read._ "A serial kidnapper, and one of Japans largest convicted human traffickers, Sadahiro Makoto has been granted parole, despite active protest from parents and relatives of his kidnapped victims..."_

Ryou froze.

_No._

_No._

Tears instantly swam in his eyes, and his heart was still for a moment, before hammering desperately in his chest. _OhmyGodnothisisnthappeningNonononono_… Ryou started to cry as he sat up, staring blankly at the television screen.

"_One of Sadahiro's victims –Who we cannot name for privacy reasons- was one of only seven victims found in Asia since his arrest, located just four years ago after being missing for almost six years. We spoke with his mother a few hours after the public announcement of Sadahiro's parole..."_

"_Bakura_!" Ryou finally managed to get his voice working. He was sobbing in pure fear, his frail form shaking. _How can this happen? How? How can they him out after what he did? He hurt so many people_…

"What's going on in- Ryou?" Bakura froze when he saw the state his love was in. Ryou was almost hyperventilating, wet chocolate eyes glued to the flickering screen. "What is it?" He breathed, sitting down on the bed and opening his arms. Ryou flung himself into Bakura's chest, sobbing into his shoulder. "What happened?"

"I-I-It's…" Ryou hiccupped, barely able to speak through his tears.

"Yes?" Bakura whispered in question, gently rubbing Ryou's back.

"Sadahiro." Ryou breathed, closing his eyes. Bakura tensed, freezing.

"What about him?" His tone was abrupt, cold, and evoked more tears from the whitenette.

"He's out…." Ryou winced as Bakura's hold on him grew painfully tight. "On the news…" Bakura turned his attention to the television, and his mouth fell open.

"_It is confirmed, however, that Sadahiro will not be serving parole in Domino. Authorities have revealed that he will remain in an undisclosed location several hundred miles from the city..."_ Bakura swallowed deeply, and fumbled for the remote. After several attempts, the yami managed to switch off the television.

"Hey…" Bakura whispered soothingly through Ryou's long hair, still rubbing his back. "It's okay, Ryou… He's on parole a long way away from here. He's going to be watched all of the time, and he'll probably go back to jail soon anyway, if people keep protesting." Ryou swallowed deeply, and Bakura gently cupped the side of his face, turning him so they met eye to eye. "And I'll be here. It's going to be okay, Ryou. It's all going to be okay." Ryou was sobbing, still hyperventilating. "Come on Ryou…" Bakura whispered. "You're tired, and you have two lectures tomorrow… I think you need to go to bed." The whitenette sniffed. "Okay?"

"O-Okay…" Ryou half-whispered, half-sobbed. Bakura sighed, and pulled back the blankets. He undressed Ryou as he cried, and tucked him in the bed. Ryou sobbed into the pillow as Bakura shut off all the lights in the apartment, and then walked back into the bedroom, undressing and climbing into the bed.

"It's going to be fine." Bakura whispered as he wrapped his arms around Ryou's slender waist, spooning him close. "He's not going to come near you."

"He said he'd get us." Ryou whispered. "H-He said…"

"Shhh…." Bakura placed a light kiss on Ryou's cheek. "He won't hurt you, I swear." Ryou sighed, still shaking in fear.

"I-I…" Ryou hiccupped again, closing his eyes. _I just want to forget the whole ugly incident ever happened. Every time I think about it, I still want to cry. How can this be happening._

"Shhh…" Bakura whispered soothingly. "There's nothing to worry about." Ryou frowned.

He didn't believe Bakura.

If there was nothing to worry about, then why was Bakura shaking so hard?

* * *

"You're up early." Ryou remarked, munching on his toast. Bakura only grunted, heading straight for the coffee pot.

"I had to be." Bakura mumbled, pouring himself a cup and taking a long swig. "Now that I'm going to be running the place in a few days, I have to pull in some longer hours." Ryou nodded, and smiled, despite himself.

"You really are starting to take an interest." He sighed. Bakura opened his mouth, thought the better of it, and closed it. "It's only taken you seven years to turn into a real human being Bakura, I'm impressed." The yami only made a face, taking another swig of his coffee. Ryou looked over at Bakura, leaning against the kitchen counter in his royal blue work overalls with his name on the breast pocket. "I really am proud of you." Bakura snorted, and drained the mug.

"I'm proud of you too." He mutters, ruffling Ryou's hair as he leans down to give him a kiss. "I gotta go to work now…" Bakura grabbed his cigarettes off of the table, and stuffed them in his pocket. "Now, don't worry about Sadahiro, okay?" Ryou shook his head, and smiled. "Good." Bakura kissed the whitenette again, and lingered before pulling away.

"Have a good day." Ryou murmured softly, a small, somewhat sad look on his face.

"You too." Bakura straightened himself, grabbing his keys and leaving the apartment, closing the door behind him. Ryou sighed, and buried his face in his hands. _Bakura's right. I don't have anything to worry about. Sadahiro isn't going to come near me. I'm going to be fine._ The whitenette swallowed. He was still a little- well, a lot- shaken about finding out about Sadahiro's parole, but managed to shrug it off. _Bakura's right. I have two lectures today and a shift at the café in the afternoon. I better get going._

* * *

"So…" Ryou asked teasingly as he stirred the pot. Bakura grunted, and closed the door behind him. He was covered in oil and crease, hair was falling out of his pony tail, and he looked exhausted. "How was your first day by yourself?" Ryou asked, turning around to face the yami.

"Tiring." Bakura muttered as he sank into a chair by the dining table. "I don't think I can keep this up for two weeks…" Ryou sighed sympathetically, and stopped stirring for a moment. He sat down beside Bakura, and held one of his hands. Although Ryou and Bakura's hands were the same colour, they looked so different. Bakura's nails were blackened, and lined with filth, hands black with oil. Ryou's were white, soft, and clean.

"I'm sure you can." Ryou smiled, placing a chaste kiss on the yami's lips. You're doubting yourself, Bakura. The first day is always the hardest, right? Well, you've gotten through that. I know you can do this." Bakura smiled faintly.

"I can always count on getting praise from you." He sighed, leaning tiredly into Ryou's chest. "What are you cooking? I'm starving." Ryou smiled.

* * *

Ryou hummed lightly to himself as he tapped the steering wheel, peering through the windshield. _Light's still red_… He sighed, looking down at the digital clock on the dashboard. _Oh, six O'clock... the news will be on!_ Ryou leaned over, and switched the stereo over from CD player to radio, where he kept the news tuned in.

"_And we bring an important announcement. This just in, Sadahiro Makoto, murderer and kidnapper, was granted permission for parole three weeks ago. As of three O'clock today, Sadahiro has been reported missing, and there have been no sightings of him in the area." _Ryou froze. "_People have been told to look out for Sadahiro, who is six foot four, with a sallow complexion and balding brown hair. He is easier to identify by the limp in his left leg-"_

Ryou switched off the radio, his entire frame shaking. The light had turned green, but his car was still. Ryou felt numb, frozen in shock. He was vaguely aware of his heart pounding in his head, and the angry tooting's directed at him from outside.

_Oh my God. I'm going to die._

_

* * *

_

"Bakura!"

The yami jumped, hitting his head hard.

"OW!"

"Sorry man." The brunette chuckled as Bakura rolled out from underneath the car. "But the phone's for you. It's your boyfriend." He smirked at the last word as Bakura stood up.

"What does Ryou want?" Bakura frowned as he wiped his hands on a rag. His workmate shrugged.

"Dunno… He was really upset, though." Bakura frowned, and ran into the employers lounge. He snatched up the phone, biting his lower lip.

"Hello?" Bakura asked the phone, sinking into a worn couch. He could hear Ryou crying on the other hand. "Baby? What's wrong?" He heard Ryou give out a long, shuddering sigh, and cry harder.

"I-It's Sadahiro…" He whispered. "He… He.." Bakura bit his lip.

"He what, Ryou?" The yami urged. "What's going on?" Ryou hiccupped.

"H-He's escaped…"

* * *

Bakura sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. He looked down at Ryou, curled on his side under the sheets. His eyes were closed, the lids swollen and puffy. Bakura gently smoothed down Ryou's silky white locks, biting his lips. He'd had to drive out to Ryou, and pick him up. He was reduced to a sobbing mess, and it took hours for Bakura to console him.

Ryou whimpered, and Bakura gently ran a finger over a smooth, silky cheek. This wasn't fair. Ryou had done absolutely nothing wrong. The memories had been giving Ryou horrible nightmares at least twice a week every night for these past seven years, and it was Bakura who held him in his arms until he sobbed himself to sleep. It was Bakura who initially had helped him to regain his shattered confidence. Ryou was bedridden for almost a month, and ever since, Bakura had noticed a subtle change in the light's demeanour.

"This shouldn't be happening." Bakura muttered to himself. "How can he get out? This justice system must have been even worse than I thought…" He sighed, and walked over to the other side of the bed, stripping down and sliding between the sheets. "But don't worry, Ryou." Bakura whispered as he snuggled close to the male. "I'll always protect you from him. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.

I swear."

* * *

"There. That's him."

"Where?"

"Right there, Mamoru you idiot. Christ, he hasn't changed…"

"Oh, I see. The one in the apron?"

"Yeah… You're not that bright, are you?"

"Shut your bloody face, Kanaye." The brunette scowled, brushing a lock of chestnut hair out of his eyes. The older of the pair continued to stare through the window into the café, where Ryou was working. _I'm never going to forget you, you bitch. _

"His shift finishes in ten minutes." Kanaye muttered, continuing to stare at the white-haired figure. "You know what we gotta do?"

"Yes…" Mamoru rolled hazel eyes. "Nab him and make sure he's knocked out before he screams… Fuck, I can see why Makoto wanted him so bad…"

"I hate him." Kanaye muttered through clenched teeth, tightening his hands on the steering wheel. "I fucking hate him." Mamoru gave his cousin a sidelong glance, and shook his head. "What?"

"You've only met him once, Kanaye, and that was years and years ago. He probably doesn't even remember you…" The brunette scowled, his knuckled whitening.

"Shut the fuck up." Kanaye growled angrily. Mamoru looked away, biting his lip. "Look…" He pointed. "He's hanging up his apron. Get going." The black-haired man nodded, withdrawing a bottle of Chloroform from the glovebox.

Ryou sighed as he pushed open the front door, wrapping his light over shirt around him. _It's cold for this hour_… The boy mused as he started to walk down the street. He was so wrapped up in his own fearful thoughts that he didn't realize there was someone shadowing him. He jumped slightly as his cellphone rang in his pocket, and he paused to answer the call. Just as he pulled out the phone however, he felt a tight grasp around his bony wrist. The cellphone clattered to the concrete as Ryou let out a cry, lifting his eyes up to the person who had grabbed him. Ryou opened his mouth to scream, but before he could draw a breath, Mamoru strongly wrapped one arm around his chest, pinning his arms to his side. He pressed the Chloroform-soaked rag to Ryou's face, and started to run towards the black car, which had just pulled up beside him.

"Take you long enough?" Kanaye snarled, glaring at the now unconscious bundle in his arms. Mamoru roughly opened the back door, and threw Ryou inside, before jumping in himself, the care accelerating sharply even as he closed the door.

"People saw." The black-haired man gasped, feeling a little fuzzy from the chloroform fumes. "What if they get the number?"

"We'll ditch the car." Kanaye responded calmly, tearing through the first back alley he reached. "Is he breathing?" Mamoru leaned over the knocked out Ryou, listening for a breath.

"Yeah." He sighed, leaning against the black leather upholstery. "Is he really twenty-three?"

"Will be in a few months." Kanaye snarled. "Little bitch. I'd slit his throat now if Sadahiro didn't want him alive."

* * *

"Bakura dude, it's eight O'clock." The yami lifted his head from under the bonnet of the car, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be thinking about getting home?"

"I'd like to, Jiro." Bakura muttered. "But this car's getting picked up tomorrow, and There's a damn leak in the radiator…" Jiro smirked.

"Okay then." He headed into the employee's lounge, washing his hands. "But the ball and chain isn't going to be happy." Bakura frowned.

"Don't say that about Ryou." He scowled. "You're just jealous because I'm getting some every night and you're not." Jiro wiped his hands on the frost towel, and picked up his jacket.

"Yeah, if I was into ass, I would be." The twenty-two year old shrugged himself into the brown coat. "He's hot… For a guy…" Bakura smiled. "Hey dude, I have to get going. Don't stay here too late."

"I wont." Bakura muttered. "I tried calling Ryou earlier but he didn't answer. He's probably working late…"

"Later dude!" Jiro called as he left the garage. Bakura nodded.

"Later." He muttered, unwittingly realizing that he'd never see his younger colleague again. Bakura sighed, bending over the car once more.

It was another half hour before Bakura was distracted by a knocking on the front door. He sighed, and straightened himself, quickly wiping his hands as he walked over to the front office, and pulled the door open.

"Hello?" Bakura demanded as he opened the front door. "Um, we're closed…" The yami blinked at the pair of men who stood in the doorway. "How can I help you?"

"Oh, you can help us." Kanaye snarled, lifting the baseball bat in his right hand. Bakura's eyes widened, and he instinctively took a step back. Before he could run, or retaliate, however, The brunette swung the bat, and it connected with a sickening _crack_ with the wide of Bakura's head. The yami barely gasped before he dropped to the concrete floor like a stone, blood already starting to stain white tangles of hair.

"Grab him, and let's get going." Kanaye snarled, looking down at the unconscious form sprawled out across the concrete.

* * *

Meh. I know it's really choppy but what are you going to do? Can you blame me for wanting to get into the good stuff. XD

R&R?


	2. Chapter 2

Hi... -cringe- Eheheheheheh..

Sorry this took yonks, fellas.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, you don't sue. Please, Takashi-sama?

* * *

Ryou groaned softly as his mind was gently lifted from the thick haze of unconsciousness. A bright light was shining in his eyes causing his eyes to blink, trying to shake off white spots that danced in front of his eyes. His head felt thick and groggy from the chloroform making it several minutes before he was finally able to properly wake up, pull himself into a sitting position, and examine his surroundings.

He was in a small room. The male blinked, his heart starting to thud faster. All he could remember before he was knocked out was a strong hand on his wrist and a bulky pair of arms pinning his hands to his sides… Had he been kidnapped? Ryou squinted slightly, his vision fuzzy and impaired from the toxic fumes that sent him into a fit of unconsciousness. After a moment he realized that he was sitting on a narrow, very old bed, the metal frames underneath the paper-thin mattress sagging. The old iron bedstead was against one wall, the paint a gloomy grey spotted with mold. Ryou gulped noticing the lack of other furniture in the room. His chocolate eyes dropped slightly to the floorboards, a thick coat of dust covering them, save for two sets of footprints leading up to, and away from the bed. Ryou's stomach went cold as the shocking realization of what had happened to him hit like a ton of bricks.

_Oh, not again..._

Ryou pressed his heavenly rose lips together, squeezing his eyes shut tight. _No, no, no not again, not again, please, not again_… Shaking, Ryou lifted his hands up to wipe as his eyes, grateful that they weren't bound. Last time, the coarse ropes cut into his skin so badly that he needed skin grafts in several places, and his pale wrists still seemed patchy with vague scars. _No no, no, no_. He whimpered and swallowed deeply. _Maybe this is all just a dream... A chloroform-induced dream? Yeah right..._

Ryou was roughly torn out of his frightened thoughts by a click of the door. He froze, sitting up as straight and as rigid as a board. He stared at the old oak door, his entire frail form quivering. _Oh no oh no oh no oh no, please, please don't be him... Please_… Ryou swallowed again, his tearful chocolate orbs swelling in fear as the door swung upon.

_Sadahiro_.

The male squeaked, instantly backing up as far up the old rickety bed as he could do, his large brown eyes reminiscent of a frightened doe. Almost instantly his strange little whimpers filled the silent room, which was coupled with the odd shuffling scrapes of the brunette man's footsteps.

He walked with a limp, Ryou noticed, his doe-brown eyes staring fixedly on the lower half of his body. Rigid in fear and unable to move, the male could only stare at the footprints in the dust, one normal, a size twelve boot leaving almost perfect imprints to reveal more of the once-shiny dark brown wood, the other a long swish against the dust, jolting haphazardly.

"Ryou." The whitenette in question trembled, curling his frame protectively into a small ball as Sadahiro uttered his name, lips stretching in a twisted leer to expose yellowed, tobacco-stained teeth. "Dear, Ryou." The man spoke his name again, and Ryou let out a low moan, burying his head in his knees as his form was rocked by heart stopping terror. "I've _waited _for this." The odd shuffling stopped, and Ryou could hear the man breathe, standing beside the narrow bed. He whimpered again, tears starting to dampen the knees of his jeans.

"N-No…" He whispered, his voice quaking in his throat. He was absolutely petrified. All he could think about was the man that stood in front of him. _He's a murderer_… "N-No…"

"Seven long years." Ryou squeaked as the mattress sagged slightly. He lifted his hear, white strands of hair jostled and out of place. Sadahiro sat on the edge of the bed, smirking evilly at the white-haired man. Ryou's eyes widened further, pressing himself against the iron bars of the bedstead as much as he could, staring at Sadahiro in pure terror.

"Please…" He stammered in a rushed, halting breath. Ryou's fingers curled into the iron bars as he looked away from the male. "D-Don't…" Sadahiro was silent for a moment, and then chuckled, a low, menacing sound in the case of his throat. Ryou swallowed, his eyes tightly shut. The brunette stared at Ryou for a long moment, before reaching out and touching Ryou's face. The whitenette froze; whimpering softly as he felt long cold fingers graze the smooth skin of his cheek. His nails were long, sharp and dug into his skin. Sadahiro smiled wider and started running his fingers through silky strands of shockingly white hair. He started to tuck the pale tresses behind Ryou's shell-like ear, exposing more of Ryou's face.

"You've barely changed." Sadahiro murmured, almost fondly, as he ran a finger over Ryou's perfectly shaped eyebrows, the same shade as his hair. "You're twenty-three years old, but you still don't look a day over sixteen." Ryou whimpered again, his fingers curling even tighter into the iron bars of the rusty bedstead, white paint flaking to the floor at his movements. A single tear trickled from his tightly clenched eye down a smooth, pale cheek. Sadahiro stopped the tiny flow of saline water with a finger. "My, my." He purred gently as he cupped Ryou's delicate jawbone. Ryou was shaking harder, his shoulders shaking in an effort to silence his terrified sobs. Sadahiro's grin was almost ear to ear as he ran his thumb over Ryou's lower lip, coaxing the male to open his mouth. "You would have made me so much…"

Ryou gasped, clenching his hands tighter than ever before. Anger was slowly building up inside him as he fully realized what a depraved, perverted, twisted man Sadahiro was. Money, all he cared about was money, to the extent of killing his own nephew. He was a monster…

"_Piss off!_" Ryou snarled tearfully, pulling one of his hands free from the bedpost. He slapped Sadahiro's hand from his face as hard as he could, chocolate-brown orbs snapping open and glaring at the brunette who hovered over him. Sadahiro only shook his head, still wearing that disturbing smile.

"Well." He purred, leaning in closer to Ryou, worn, hazel brown eyes that lit up in perversion, sadism, and greed stared down at tearful chocolate optics, wide, innocent, and fearful. "It seems the kitten grew claws." Ryou blinked, the bridge of his nose wrinkled in a scowl. He slapped Sadahiro with his free hand across the face with all of the force he could muster. The blow almost stunned the older man for a moment, and he blinked, shaking his head. He growled, low in his throat, the smile leaving. In its place was an ugly scowl that contorted his features. "I don't _like _claws." Ryou's eyes widened in shock and before he had the chance to react, Sadahiro had a strong, vice-like grip on both of his skinny wrists.

"L-Let me go!" Ryou yelped, finding his voice again. Sadahiro was only glaring at Ryou, raising the boy's wrists until they were on either side of his head.

"I've been waiting too long to let this slide." The brunette snarled, looking down at Ryou with that same ugly snarl. "I'm going to make all of you _pay _for what you did." Ryou whimpered and struggled, but his resistance against Sadahiro's hold was futile. "Seven years. _Seven years_ of my live was wasted in that hell hole because of you!" Sadahiro's voice rose with every syllable until he was shouting, his face bright red in his rage. He released Ryou's wrists, and the whitenette dropped his hands, which tingled slightly as his blood circulated around his limbs once more. He had no time to notice that however, as the brunette angrily seized his arms, halfway between his elbow and his shoulder. Ryou gritted his teeth as Sadahiro's nails dug into his skin, through his cotton over-shirt and the tee-shirt he was wearing. "You're a fucking _slut_!" Sadahiro shouted again, and this time, he pulled Ryou's skinny frame forward slightly, before smashing the frail male against the bedpost. Ryou cried out, arching his back in pain as his spine came into rough contact with an iron bar, fresh tears leaking from his earth-brown eyes. "A no-good, dirty-rotten _slut!"_ with each word, Sadahiro smashed the small whitenette against the rusting, paint-flaking iron bars, until Ryou was sobbing in pain, feeling his back already start to purple with bruises.

"You deserve this." Sadahiro shoved the whitenette hard against the iron bar frame one more time. Ryou screamed, and slumped against the bedstead, as Sadahiro released his cruel hands from thin, bony arms. The brunette stood up, and leaned over the trembling, sobbing male. "Just _remember _that, you fucking bitch!" at that, Sadahiro turned around abruptly on his right heel, and started to limp out of the room. Ryou moaned softly, curling into the mattress, wincing every time he moved his spine. It hurt so much… The whitenette buried his face in his hands, crying out as he moved his shoulder blades, which were also abused in Sadahiro's fury.

Ryou lay there for what felt like a very long time. Although there was a loose piece of the cast iron frame digging into his side painfully through the mattress, the whitenette didn't dare move. His back throbbed, especially his spine, seemingly in tune with his heart that was hammering in his throat. Fear, pain, and shock were all racing through his mind as he sprawled across the bed, his face buried in the soiled, smelly mattress. _Oh, it hurts; it hurts so much, ow ow ow_…

It seemed like a very long time later (Although in reality, it couldn't have been more than a few hours) when the doorknob started to rattle again. _Someone is unlocking the door_… Despite the pain from his beaten spine, Ryou sat up, his earth-brown eyes fixed on the door. _Oh no, this isn't good, oh no oh no oh no_…

Ryou was right. The door swung open, two menacing figures stood in the threshold. For a moment, Ryou only saw a silhouette as he they were framed by the doorway, lit up by the light from the next room, but as they stepped into the room, one shutting the door in their wake, Ryou's heart dropped like a stone.

They certainly didn't look friendly. The tallest man was a brunette, the chestnut locks greasy and unkempt. His face was dirty and speckled with stubble. His hazel brown eyes were bleary and narrowed slightly. He was thin, but not as thin as Ryou, and his clothes were all black. The other man looked less threatening, with black hair in a short, spiky crew cut that was growing out, but he had very similar eyes and needed a shave just as badly as he did. He was tall, but not as tall as the brunette and Ryou _really_ didn't like the look of those powerful arm muscles underneath his shirt. It took all of a second before Ryou judged that these two people were not on his side, but the side of Sadahiro, and with a soft whimper, he curled himself into a tight huddle against the bedstead, protecting his head as best as he could with his arms. He hissed in pain from the movement against his fragile back and gasped as the two men laughed nastily.

"Well, well, well." A pair of heavy black boots thudded slowly, menacingly across the floorboards, causing Ryou to try and curl tighter into himself, praying silently for help. "If it isn't the famous Ryou."

"I still say he don't look like much." Ryou felt fresh tears sting the back of his eyes as the other man piped up. He wasn't sure who was who at this point. "And he put uncle Makoto in jail?"

"Nah." The footsteps stopped, and Ryou could sense the two men leering down on him. He whimpered again, and tried to stifle a sob, but to no avail. "He just sat there for days, crying like a little baby." Both of the men laughed nastily, and Ryou couldn't stem the tears at this point. "Grab his arms, Mamoru."

Ryou gasped, but before he could try and move to get away, Mamoru grabbed the two arms that were flung across his head protectively at the forearm, and pried them away from Ryou's head. The whitenette struggled, twisting and turning as much as he could in an effort to get away from the man who held him, but to no avail.

"Well look at that." Ryou shook his head and whimpered as the man who leered over him sat on the bed, grabbing his face. "He's doing it again." He sighed in mock exasperation and tightened his fingers on Ryou's jawbone. His touch on Ryou's face was much, much harsher than Sadahiro's, but both held the same amount of deadly greed and perversion. "Open your eyes brat."

Ryou whimpered and shook his head. He felt the mattress sag once more as the other male who had his arms sat down, pinning Ryou's arms as his side. He heard the first man emit a low, annoyed growling in his throat, before the chink of metal on metal squeaked momentarily around the small room with no windows, and Ryou froze, gasping as a sharp piece of metal dug into the side of his neck.

A knife.

_Oh God_.

"Open your eyes, right now, you little bitch." He snarled, and to prove his point, pressed the knife firmly against the alabaster skin. Ryou swallowed deeply, shaking like a leaf. "_Now_." In panic, Ryou's eyes snapped open, his vision wobbling slightly with tears. He blinked away the saline water and looked up into the face of the man who held the knife. It was the brunette. Ryou's chin trembled, and his eyes widened further. Now that he had the chance to examine this mans' facial features up close, Ryou noticed how strangely familiar he looked. Especially his eyes…

Ryou inhaled a lungful of air, his heart still hammering in desperate fear in his chest. Although pure terror wrapped around him like a blanket, curiosity still poked its head out, wanting to know what was going on. Ryou bit his lip and summoned up his courage before asking the question that burned on his lips.

"Wh-Who are you?" He breathed, still making sure not to move, for the knife was still bit into the side of his neck. The brunette snarled angrily, but removed the knife. He was silent for a long moment, staring calculatingly into Ryou's wet chocolate eyes, wider than ever in fear.

"Kano Kanaye." He muttered shortly. Ryou's wide eyes narrowed for a moment, in deep thought, despite his predicament. _Where on earth have I heard that name before... _

_Oh God._

_Kiyoshi_.

Ryou's eyes widened again and his mouth fell open as he really looked at the man who's face was so close to his. They _did_ look similar, now that he thought about it. Although Kiyoshi had been dead for seven long years, and Ryou had no photographs, he could still remember his deceased friends face as plain as day. This man had the same eyes, the same hair, the same nose…

"Kiyoshi's brother." Ryou gasped faintly, in recognition. The man only nodded shortly, still glaring at Ryou with that same hateful expression on his face. Ryou was still for a moment, until he realized the cause of Kanaye's anger. "You… You think I killed him." Kanaye froze, and then his face contorted in anger. With an angry scowl, he grabbed both of Ryou's thin shoulders and slammed him down into the mattress with an angry growl. Ryou screamed in pain as his abused spine was shoved into the thin, hard mattress, and Mamoru jumped back, swearing. He still had a hold on Ryou's arms though, and forced them on the mattress above Ryou's head. Kanaye straddled Ryou's hips and leaned over the whitenette, greasy chestnut hair falling over his face.

"Because you fucking _DID_!" Kanaye screamed, punching Ryou hard in the stomach. The whitenette gasped, his eyes wide, temporarily winded from the blow. "You fucking killed him!" He slapped Ryou across the face, hard, earning a yelp from the delicate male.

"N-No!" Ryou gasped, still finding it hard to breathe after the harsh blow delivered to his stomach. "I-It was Sadahiro, H-He sh-shot him-"

"I KNOW he fucking shot him!" Kanaye screamed, his hazel brown eyes lit up in a raw fury. "But _you_ did it! Kiyoshi_ never_ went against Sadahiro before you came along, you bitch! And now look at what you've done!" Ryou gasped and shook his head, his mind whirling.

"N-No!" He begged tearfully, feeling his heart rate quicken even further. "I-I n-never-"

"SHUT UP!" Kanaye screamed angrily, still leaning over Ryou. The whitenette whimpered and fell silent. "I'm going to make you hurt, Ryou. I'm going to make you hurt like you fucking hurt me!" Ryou's pupils dilated in fear and he started to shake, especially when Kanaye raise the knife in his right hand.

"N-No…" He whispered, starting to sob. "No… Please, don't do this…." There was no sympathy or compassion in Kanaye's face as he started to hitch up the first few inches of Ryou's shirt. The whitenette started to cry again, struggling madly but in vain. He was trapped by Kanaye and Mamoru, completely helpless and unable to get out. Kanaye pressed the blade of the knife just above Ryou's hip bone that jutted out from his flat stomach, and started to slowly slice the skin.

Ryou screamed in agony, arching his back. _Oh, it hurts it hurts please stop stop stop stop it stop it ow ow ow please stop_… He clenched his eyed shut again in pain, screaming and screaming as Kanaye continued to slice more of the skin, almost an inch deep into Ryou's flesh. Tears ran down Ryou's face and he desperately kicked his feet that would not move, tried to flail his arms that were held firmly in place. _Oh stop stop stop please make it stop stop it oh God it hurts_… Kanaye's smirk only grew wider and wider as he continued to cut Ryou's skin, fully enjoying the sounds of agony that came from his mouth. Mamoru only looked on in silence, his stomach churning unpleasantly at the sight of the blood that flowed from the long gash. Ryou's toes curled as he arched his back, his shoes and socks missing, writhing in desperation and screaming in anguish. After what seemed like an eternity, Kanaye lifted the knife away from Ryou's stomach, staring at the long slit across the skin stretching from hip bone to hip bone. Ryou's screams of agony had faded to harsh, ragged gasps and sobs, tear tracks staining his cheeks.

"Oh, does that hurt?" Kanaye sneered spitefully as he leaned over Ryou once more. The whitenette continued to sob in pain, almost hyperventilating. "Oh no… Poor baby…" He murmured mockingly. Ryou didn't care about Kanaye at that point. All he could think about what his stomach. Oh, it _hurt!_ The way Kanaye had carelessly ripped through skin and muscle, leaving only torn, bleeding flesh, was nothing short of cruel. Ryou wanted to double over and clutch his stomach, bit Kanaye still sat on his legs and Mamoru had an iron grip on his arms. "I know how to make it all better…" He leered. Kanaye wore a heavy leather jacket, and he reached inside one of the inner pockets, extracting a plastic bottle that looked rather like a hipflask. "Good old citrus should do the trick." Ryou vaguely heard his voice, but it was a moment before the meaning of his words penetrated his pain-wracked brain.

_Citrus..._

_Lemon juice._

_**Oh God.**_

"No…" Ryou moaned, struggling weakly. He snapped open blurry brown eyes to watch as Kanaye wave the bottle in front of his face. His heart thudded painfully in his chest, wrapped by an icy fist of fear.

"Where did you get that?" Ryou heard Mamoru inquire. Kanaye sat up straight, and smiled that awful, depraved smile.

"At the gas station." He muttered, unscrewing the cap. "Pure lemon juice. They use it for cooking, apparently." Ryou shook his head from side to side, his desperate whimpers growing louder. _No... Please, don't do this..._

"No…" Ryou whispered tearfully, hiccupping and sobbing. "P-Please… Please don't do this…" Kanaye's smile only grew as he lowered the bottle until it was hovering a few inches over Ryou's slashed stomach, blood still gushing from the agonizing knife wounds. "_NO!" _Ryou screamed desperately, but to no avail. Kanaye started to upend the small bottle, slowly working his way across the wound in Ryou's stomach. Ryou arched his back and screamed louder than ever before, writhing and struggling in desperate agony. All coherent thoughts flew out the window as the lemon juice was poured onto the open flesh; all he could think about was the pain of having citric acid poured over his exposed wound. It felt like it was eating into his stomach, a throbbing torture much, much worse than the knife that had created the laceration a few moments before.

Ryou didn't know how long he was there, howling and crying in pure agony as Kanaye continued his cruel torture on him, his satisfaction only growing each time as he poured more juice onto Ryou's slit stomach, until the bottle was finally empty, and the citric acid had dissolved, leaving the whitenette broken and in agony and sobbing into the mattress.

All Ryou could think about was the horrific pain and how much he wanted it to all go away.

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Hehehehe...

Sorry?

R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

Hiya!

Yeah, I know it's a bit short, but it's all one scene again... Bakura this time.

He's less fun. o.o'

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Fuck, he had the world's _biggest _headache.

Bakura groaned as his crimson eyes slowly cracked open, his mind struggling to shake off the thick fog of unconsciousness. The left side of his head throbbed painfully, blood slowly dripping into his eyes. The yami blinked several times, but the red tint over his eyes remained. _Holy fuck... What happened?_

Bakura chewed his lower lip. He was still completely unaware of his surroundings as he tried to think through the blinding pain that seared through his head. The throbbing was like a low drum, pounding in his temple in time with his heart. _Oh... Yeah. Some bastard cracked me over the head with a baseball bat... Wait._

_Oh Fuck._

Bakura's eyes snapped open, and he stared around himself in shock. The room was completely windowless, bare wooden boards beneath his feet with peeling shabby wallpaper on the dim walls. _Shit, this isn't good._ The white-haired demon tried to move his arms, but realized with a jolt that they were tied to his sides. _SHIT_. Bakura's eyes were wide as he stared down at himself, eyes fixated on the thick, coarse ropes across his chest, and wrapped around his ankles. He tried to struggle, but found he was stuck fast to the chair. There was even a gag around his mouth, forcing him to remain quiet.

"Well, look who's awake." Bakura froze, and even his heart seemed to freeze for a moment as the slick, oily voice filled the small room, lit only by the pale, flickering light bulb, suspended from the ceiling. "I was beginning to think my nephew hit you too hard."

_Sadahiro._

Bakura turned his head this way and that, but was completely immobile. He growled in frustration, wrinkling the bridge of his nose. _That bitch. That fucking son of a bitch. I should have known he was behind all of this_. _I'm going to kill him. As soon as I get out of this, I am going to fucking kill him._

"You don't seem too happy to see me." Sadahiro purred as he walked around the chair, until he faced Bakura. "My, My, Bakura. I'm _very_ happy to see you." Bakura blinked. _How did he_… "Yes, I know your name." He leered over the yami, an unpleasant sneer on his face. "I know so much about the both of you. Kanaye and my son have been watching you, and keeping an eye on you." Bakura's eyes widened, and for a moment, he forgot the throbbing of his head.

_Oh Fuck. This fuck's been watching both of us, then-_

_Ryou. He wasn't answering his phone at work..._

_No. No. **No**. _

Bakura locked eyes with Sadahiro for a split second. Brown flecked with green stared down at brown tinted with crimson. And Sadahiro _knew_ the panic that rattled Bakura to his very soul. An evil smirk spread across his features, and his eyes flashed.

"Don't worry…" He whispered mockingly, his sadistic smile widening. "Kanaye and Mamoru are taking _very_ good care of your dear Ryou." Bakura snarled angrily, and started to struggle against the ropes that bound him to the chair. He was beyond angry as he squirmed desperately, thinking only about Ryou. _What are they doing to you_…

"Oh, come now." Sadahiro bared tobacco-stained teeth in a sneer. "Don't bother struggling, you're not going anywhere." He leaned in even closer to the yami, who shied away from the stale, rancid breath that washed over him. "I'm going to make you_ pay_ ruining my life, you little _shit._" _BRING IT ON!_ Bakura mentally screamed. He wasn't able to speak the words, but Sadahiro caught the gist of them from the venomous look that was cast his way. He curled his upper lip.

"I've been waiting for this moment for so long." Sadism flashed in Sadahiro's eyes as he straightened himself. Bakura gulped, realizing for the first time how tall, and solidly built Sadahiro was. He may have been approaching his fifties, but the man was still extremely dangerous at any time, and now he had the upper hand on the yami, who was tied tightly to the chair. "It's been running through my head so many times… But I must say." The brunette smirked. "It's _much_ more satisfying in real life." Bakura growled, still struggling against the thick ropes that bit into the skin of his wrists and ankles. Sadahiro turned away from Bakura, and started to walk around the chair in a circle. The yami inwardly smiled as he noticed Sadahiro's limp. _Ha. Marik did a good job shooting you, you sick twisted fuck_.

It was the bloodcurdling scream, muffled slightly in the distance, that made Sadahiro pull up short in his walk. Bakura froze, his crimson-tinted eyes widening even further as he recognized who was screaming.

Ryou.

_NO!_

_You sick bastard!_ Bakura strained desperately against the ropes, shouting and yelling at Sadahiro, although his words were distorted and muffled through the gag. Sadahiro was literally beaming as Ryou continued to scream three rooms down, and Bakura struggled harder. _I'm going to get you for this! I'm going to kill all of you fucking bastards for doing this to him! _

"Yes." Sadahiro murmured. "My son and nephew are taking _very_ good care of our special little Ryou…" The chair shifted as Bakura struggled desperately against the ropes, attempting to scream at the middle-aged brunette through the gag. Sadahiro chuckled, and leaned down again, staring at Bakura's crimson eyes. "But if I were you…" He breathed, one hand going down to his pocket. "I would be _much_ more concerned about my own health." Bakura's orbs widened, and his heart skipped a beat. _Oh shit_. He heard the familiar hiss of a metal knife being withdrawn, and tightened his hands into fists. _SHIT_.

"You ruined my life." Sadahiro repeated. Bakura paled as the knife was pressed against his throat. "And I'm going to make you _pay_." He growled menacingly. Bakura swallowed, trying to keep his breath as shallow as he could. Sadahiro smirked, and straightened himself, taking the knife away from Bakura's throat. "But don't worry." Bakura bit his lip underneath the gag, his heart racing. "I won't kill you." Pale lips stretched, exposing yellow stained teeth as Sadahiro smiled sadistically. "Yet." The yami closed his eyes, trying to calm the lurching of his stomach. He couldn't help being a little afraid; he was in a very frightening position, tied firmly to a chair with a knife-wielding psycho who wanted to kill him hovering over him. _Shitshitshitshit_.

"_This._" Sadahiro straightened himself, narrowing his watery hazel eyes. "Is for taking away my most expensive worker." Bakura's eyes widened again as Sadahiro raised the knife, and without warning, stabbed the shard of metal firmly in Bakura's upper arm.

The yami bit back a scream as he arched his back in agony. His eyes were screwed shut tightly, and his hands clenched into fists. _OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod. Fuck that hurts... Fuck fuck fuck_!! Bakura's breathing was harsh and ragged, and tears glittered in the corners of his eyes. Sadahiro chuckled under his breath as he stood back, watching the blood gush from the wound in his arm, staining the white tee-shirt crimson and trickling down his skin. _Oh hell_…

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Sadahiro leered down at the yami, who glared back at him, his hands shaking. With his arm throbbing as though it had been burned, and coupled with the searing pain in his head, Bakura thought he might pass out. "And I'm just warming up." The yami groaned, his head swimming.

_Do your worst._ Bakura mentally challenged. Although he had a pounding headache, and his arm was in agony, the yami still lifted his head, glaring resolutely at the male. _Come on. I'm still going to come out of this one the winner. Why not let me go so we can fight equally, huh? You know I'd pound you into the ground, you sick fuck. _

Bakura gasped aloud as the cool metal of the knife was pressed against the edge of his ear. His heart leaped into his throat for a moment, and then sank rapidly as he caught sight of Sadahiro's eyes. Tobacco-stained teeth were flashed for a moment, and Bakura's eyed widened, a soft, muffled cry tearing from his throat as the knife ripped through his ear, carving out a chunk of flesh. Sadahiro only stood back and laughed as Bakura screwed his eyes shut, struggling madly against the ropes. That _hurt!_ The left side of his head throbbed worse than ever, and Bakura's vision blurred as his eyes watered. Oh, that hurt so much! The yami's head was bowed as Sadahiro leaned down and untied the gag, and he didn't move for a second.

"You're the sickest son of a bitch I've ever met." Bakura glared as he lifted his head up, staring Sadahiro in the eye. "Let Ryou _go."_ Sadahiro chuckled, idly twirling the knife in his fingers. Bakura winced as he heard Ryou scream again, biting his lip.

"He deserves this." Sadahiro leaned down, snarling at the yami. "He deserves the pain he's getting and so do you." Bakura only growled, trying to ignore the blood slowly trickling down the side of his neck, staining the collar of his tee shirt. Sadahiro abruptly pressed the knife on the side of his face, earning a deep swallow from the yami. Bakura could only close his eyes as the knife was dragged across his skin, gaining a fresh gasp of pain.

"F-Fuck you." Bakura snarled angrily, trembling. _Fuck_ that knife went in deeply. Sadahiro almost cut through into his mouth. "You fucking _deserved_ that time in jail." Sadahiro snarled, narrowing his hazel eyes.

"I _didn't._" He countered, tightening his hand on the knife. "I only did what I had do to stay on top. It was _your_ fault that my nephew is dead. You and those other freaks." Bakura gritted his teeth, and his hands tightened into fists. Although he was bleeding from four places, the crimson liquid soaking his shirt and skin, the yami never noticed the pain. All he could ever think about was the pure evil of Sadahiro. How could he blame the death of Kiyoshi on him and Marik? He was the one that shot his nephew, point blank in the chest. From what Ryou had told him, Kiyoshi was a sweet and kindhearted person, despite his dark connections with Sadahiro and his underground business. He certainly never deserved to die.

"You were the one that fucking shot him!" Bakura almost yelled, narrowing his eyes. "I saw you shoot him, you bastard. He _never _deserved death!"

"He betrayed me!" Sadahiro spun around, his eyes flashing in fury. "The idiot brat betrayed me!" Bakura let out a long sigh, closing his eyes. Everything hurt…

"NO." Bakura mumbled in exasperation. "He didn't. Ryou told me what happened, Sadahiro. It was compassion, not betrayal. How would you like to sit back and watch a friend of yours go through what Ryou went through? Oh, no, you were the one that actually _did _that to him-"

"_Shut up!" _Sadahiro roared. He punched Bakura hard in the face, no doubt giving him what would result in a black eye. The yami gasped, screwing his face tightly in pain. "You don't know what the _fuck _you're saying!"

"Y-Yes I do!" Bakura retorted. "Kiyoshi was a good kid, Sadahiro. He only wanted to help Ryou! You had no right to shoot him!" Sadahiro growled, and grabbed both of Bakura's shoulders. The yami winced as a fresh twinge of pain shot down his stabbed arm.

"I told you to _shut up!_" Sadahiro yelled, his nose inches from the yami. "You don't fucking _listen_ to me, do you?" Bakura snarled, and despite himself, he smirked.

"So I touched a nerve?" He asked casually, staring at the man in the eye. "So you _did_ care about Kiyoshi, and it's been bothering you that you're the one who killed him-" Sadahiro sneered, an ugly expression on his face as he angrily slammed the knife into Bakura's thigh.

"_Fuck_." The yami gasped, arching his neck in agony. He gritted his teeth tightly, fighting down the urge to scream, and clenched his hands into fists. "Oh Fuck…"

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Sadahiro smirked as he withdrew the knife, earning a fresh hiss of pain from the yami. "Maybe you'll learn to shut your fucking _mouth!_" Bakura only growled in the base of his throat.

"Drop _dead_." Bakura shot back. Sadahiro snarled, punching the white-haired yami hard in the jawbone. Bakura suppressed a gasp as several teeth were knocked loose, and bit on his lip, his mouth filling up with blood.

"You don't learn, do you?" Sadahiro sneered, he leaned down even closer, until their noses almost touched. Bakura only wrinkled his nose in a scowl. "What part of _shut the fuck up_ do you not understand?" Bakura only closed his eyes, his head spinning. His head hurt, his arm hurt, his leg hurt… _Oh Fuck_…

"Go fuck yourself." Bakura mumbled softly, bowing his head. Sadahiro scowled, grabbing Bakura's jaw, and turning his face up to meet him.

"You don't learn…" Sadahiro sighed mockingly, gripping Bakura's jaw tightly. "Such a pity…" Bakura only bared his teeth in a snarl, and narrowed his eyes.

"You're the sickest bastard I've ever met." Bakura announced, staring right at Sadahiro. "You're ruined hundreds of lives, and you don't even fucking _care."_ Sadahiro only smirked.

"No." He purred. "I don't. And guess what?" He leaned forward to whisper into Bakura's ear, which was dripping with blood. "I don't care about hurting you either." Bakura swallowed desperately, starting to struggle against the ropes. He could still hear Ryou screaming, his voice distant, and far away. He wanted nothing more than to break free of the ropes, to find his Ryou and hold him and comfort him…

"Do your worst." Bakura snarled, his eyes narrowed in fury. Sadahiro stood up, placing the knife back into his belt.

"I plan to." The middle-aged man smiled. He grabbed the handkerchief, and despite struggles and protests from Bakura, tied the gag around his mouth. "We don't want Ryou to hear you scream now, do we?" He smiled, and walked around the wide of the chair.

_I wouldn't give you the satisfaction_. Bakura inwardly snarled, before turning his head to look at Sadahiro, but no avail. He heard the odd shuffle of him walking around the chair, until he was lost from view.

"I see this…" Sadahiro hefted the sledgehammer in his arms, walking back over to his original position. "As a way of breaking even." Bakura only stared at the hammer, confused. _What's he planning_… "Let's see how_ you_ like to have a permanent fucking limp." Bakura's eyes widened as Sadahiro raised the hammer over his head, and he tried to back away, struggling madly, but it was too late. Sadahiro smiled sadistically as he brought the hammer down, right on Bakura's knee.

Bakura screamed. He arched his back and neck, every muscle in his body going rigid in pure agony. _OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK THAT HURTS!_ He screamed again, his kneecap feeling as though it had been shattered- and it probably was. The yami bit on his lip hard enough to draw blood, tears forming in his eyes. Suddenly, the pain in his thigh, his head, his arm, it didn't matter. All he could think about was his knee, and how much it hurt. It was fucking _agony_. Sadahiro laughed as he stared at Bakura deal with his torment, his screaming muffled by the gag around his mouth. The yami couldn't stop the tears as they started to fall. It was as though he couldn't think, couldn't breathe. The only thing on his mind was the blinding, torturous agony of his left knee.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Sadahiro leaned down, staring at Bakura. The yami bowed his head, suppressing the urge to actually cry. His knee… Nothing in his whole life had ever hurt this badly! "Now you know how I felt." The brunette sneered. "Don't worry," A smirk passed his features. "It's not going to hurt for much longer." Bakura weakly lifted his head, staring at Sadahiro.

_Fuck you_. Bakura narrowed his eyes. _Fuck you to hell, Sadahiro. _He gritted his teeth, feeling as though his knee had exploded. How was it _possible_ for something to hurt so much? The yami sighed, his head lolling to one side. He felt so… weak. _Me? Weak? Ha. That word isn't even in my vocabulary. Well, not about me, anyway. It must be loss of blood. Ugh, my work uniform is filthy... I'm delirious._

"Now, are we going to behave?" Sadahiro leaned down again, raising an eyebrow. Bakura only growled. "I must say, this is _very_ enjoying. Don't you agree?" The yami narrowed his eyes, and shook his head. "Well, it's not supposed to be fun for you." Sadahiro chuckled. "I've been wanting to do this for years…" Bakura only closed his eyes. _I'm not going to give up, I'm not going to give up._

_I'm much better than this. I'm not gonna give up._

_

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_

_-sigh- _Three days, mebbe? I dunno...

R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

Ergh.. It's so late XX I'm so so so so sorry. I'll pull my head in, I swears.

Disclaimer: Don't own.

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"P-Please…"

Despite his begging, Ryou knew it was totally hopeless. He felt weak, totally exhausted, and in pain as the long, clawed hand grasped his shoulder, sharp nails digging into his skin and creating deep red ridges in the smooth expanse of pale skin, hidden underneath the two layers of light cotton clothing. Both hands were clutching his stomach as he curled on his side on the worn, sagging bed. Tears continued to run down his face as he sobbed weakly, and blood still dripped sluggishly through his splayed fingers.

The grin on Kanaye's face grew as he forced Ryou to lie on his back. The whitenette moaned softly, and tried to struggle, but the powerful grip Kanaye had on him prevented any methods of escape. The brunette grabbed both of Ryou's wrists in one fluid motion, and lifted them slightly. Ryou hiccupped, and shook his head.

"Please." He continued to beg hopelessly, trying to bury his face in the mattress. The sick realization of what was happening to himself kept hitting Ryou like a ton of bricks. "Don't do this…" He sniffed, looking up at Kanaye. He tried to make his eyes seem as large and as pleading as possible as he stared at the older male. Kanaye blinked as their eyes locked, and for just a moment, Ryou thought there was a soft thread of humanity and compassion in his murky green-brown eyes, but just as quick as it came, it vanished. Kanaye scowled as he hit Ryou hard across the face, the force of the blow making Ryou gasp and turn his head to the side.

"Shut up." Kanaye hissed as he leaned over Ryou, narrowing his eyes. "Shut the _fuck _up, and don't you _dare_ ever look at me again, I'll kill you." Kanaye leaned over the trembling male further, snarling. "Got it?" Ryou swallowed, and sniffed, before nodding his head gently. "Good."

"Hey, Kanaye." Mamoru, who was leaning against the wall opposite the bed, examining his nails. "I might go see how Dad's going. Is that cool with you?" Kanaye sat up, and nodded, looking over at the black-haired man.

"Yeah. Chuck me your knife, though. I need two." Ryou started to sob weakly, struggling underneath Kanaye. "_Stop _it, you little brat!" Ryou swallowed deeply, and bit hard on his lip. "Good." Mamoru only chuckled, and withdrew a Swiss army knife from his pocket. He threw it across the room, and Kanaye caught it expertly.

"Catch ya later." Mamoru casually turned, and opened the door. Ryou closed his eyes as it clicked shut behind him, and stifled a sob. Kanaye shifted his gaze from the door back down to Ryou, and a grin of pure evil and sadism spread across his face. Ryou's breathing quickened in fear, and he closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Please… Please…" Ryou was hyperventilating in his terror, sobbing softly. "Please…" He trailed off, turning his head to one side and closing his eyes. Kanaye only narrowed his eyes, and his upper lip curled in a snarl. Ryou's sobs grew louder as Kanaye's hand hovered over his stomach, and it turned into a scream as the brunette squeezed the slashed skin and muscles. The whitenette arched his back in pain, desperately trying to wrench his hands free from Kanaye. The elder male was smiling as he continued to manipulate the ripped flesh, Ryou sobbing and screaming, pinned on the bed beneath him.

"You're pathetic." Kanaye snorted as he leered over Ryou. He removed his hand from the whitenette's stomach, wiping the blood from his fingers onto Ryou's already stained tee-shirt. Ryou gave a long, shuddering sigh, sobbing weakly. It hurt so much… Kanaye scowled, and properly sat up, looking down at Ryou. "Sit up." He ordered, as he stood up, glaring down at Ryou. The whitenette sniffed, and started to prop himself back up onto his elbows. The pressure on his stomach was too much, however, and he collapsed back onto the mattress with a low moan. Kanaye growled, and slapped Ryou hard across the face. "_Sit up!_" He yelled, curling his hands into fists. Ryou sobbed, shaking his head.

"I-I C-Can't…" He finally managed to whisper, screwing his face in pain. "P-Please…" Kanaye only rolled his eyes, before grabbing the belt on Ryou's jeans. The whitenette gasped and cried out as Kanaye dragged him off of the bed, and onto the floor with a hard _thump_.

"Baby." Kanaye sneered as Ryou sniffed, holding his stomach. The whitenette shook his head tearfully. "Yes you are." He continued, going down to his knees. "For Gods sake Ryou." He growled as he straddled Ryou's waist, earning a fresh gasp from the male. "You're a man. Why not act like it?" Ryou only closed his eyes, pressing his lips together. "Don't want to talk, then do you?" Kanaye smirked, greasy brown hair falling into his eyes as he leaned over. Ryou whimpered softly, shaking his head. "No?" Ryou sobbed silently, wincing as his bruised back was jammed roughly against the hard wooden floorboards. "Well…" Kanaye stood up. "That's good then." Ryou's eyes snapped open, and he looked up at Kanaye fearfully.

"Wh-Wh-Why?" Ryou finally managed to brokenly whisper. The green in Kanaye's eyes glittered as he leaned down and grabbed a handful of thick white hair. Ryou yelped as he was roughly yanked to a standing position. His legs felt weak, and hating himself for doing it, Ryou grabbed onto the collar of Kanaye's jacket in an effort to relieve some of the heavy pressure on his scalp.

"Hey." Kanaye snarled, and with his free hand, grabbed Ryou's wrists and pulled them away from his jacket. "Fuck off and _don't_ touch me." The whitenette bowed his head, wavering weakly on his legs. "If you can't stand by yourself." Kanaye smiled. "Then you'll have to be held up…" Ryou's eyes widened, and his chin trembled. _Oh no… Oh no Oh no Oh no..._ The whitenette moaned weakly as Kanaye dragged him to the closest wall, and gasped as he was roughly slammed against the drab, peeling wallpaper. "Now." Kanaye reached for his pocket. With his free hand, he grabbed Ryou's wrist, and pressed it against the wall. Ryou's chin started to tremble, and he stood frozen in fear at his hand. _What's he going to do?_ "_This_ should keep you still." Ryou froze as Kanaye released his hold on his hair, and withdrew the Swiss Army knife Mamoru gave him from his pocket. His chocolate eyes, wet with tears, darted from his hand to the knife. His heart stopped when he realized what Kanaye was going to do to keep him against that wall.

"No…" He whispered, tears spilling down his face. He trembled, and tried to struggle, but it was no use. "No.. Please, no-" Ryou's useless pleasing immediately turned into a scream as Kanaye thrust the knife inside his palm, through blood vessels and tendons and skin and bone, right through to the solid wood panel on the other side. Ryou screamed again, in complete agony. Kanaye's knife had gone through tendons, the most sensitive organ in his body. _Oh God... Oh God oh God get it out please get it out it hurts so much, Oh God..._ His stomach felt like a papercut compared to the roaring torment that surged through his hand. Blood dripped from the large stab wound in his palm, trickling down the shabby wallpaper like a tiny crimson waterfall.

"Oh, does it hurt?" Kanaye murmured mockingly grabbing Ryou's jaw. The whitenette sobbed, feeling as though his hand had been completely cut off. "Well… I know what will stop you from thinking about it."

"NO!" Ryou managed to yell, his eyes snapping open, wide in fear. "Don't… Please Kanaye, Don't do it… It hurts so much…" He moaned, trying to hide his right hand behind his back. Kanaye only raised an eyebrow, before withdrawing his own knife, baring his teeth in a grin. "No… Kanaye, don't do it, please…" Ryou moaned as Kanaye grabbed his elbow, and forced his forearm out from behind his back. "Please… Don't do Kanaye, don't do it." Kanaye was oblivious to Ryou's pleas as he slammed Ryou's hand hard onto the wall. Ryou was hyperventilating, and shaking his head, crying harder. "P-Please…" He moaned, "Please…"

"Oh, suck it up." Kanaye only growled, as he unmercifully stabbed Ryou's hand to the wall, effectively pinning the whitenette, his arms too far apart to move. Ryou arched his neck and screamed in fresh agony. Every muscle in his body went rigid, and his toes curled as he tired to cope with the overwhelming pain of having both of his hands- one of the most responsive parts of the body- stabbed all the way through. Kanaye only stood back and chuckled, folding his arms as he watched Ryou screaming and sobbing from the throbbing pain in his hands.

"Okay." He muttered a few minutes later, a scowl forming on his features. "Stop it now." The brunette placed his hands on his hips, and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on!" He placed a hand over Ryou's mouth, effectively silencing his tears. "Stop crying. I'm starting to get very sick of that sound." Ryou lifted his head, his chin trembling beneath Kanaye's hand. The brunette surveyed Ryou for a moment, before he lifted his hand away from Ryou's mouth. He sniffed, and bowed his head again, his knees sagging. Despite what Kanaye had ordered, the teenager couldn't stop crying. He was in a huge amount of pain from the two knives in his hands. Kanaye growled, and without warning, grabbed the handle of the knife sticking out of Ryou's left hand. The whitenette froze and whimpered. The soft sound turned into a scream as Kanaye slowly twisted the knife, a grin forming on his face at the sickening sound of veins, bones, and cartilage freshly tearing. Ryou was sobbing and screaming, his eyes screwed up tightly as Kanaye continued to his torturing ministrations, until finally, after the knife had made a full three hundred and sixty degree turn, he let the handle go. Ryou was gasping for breath; feeling as through the air had been knocked out of his lungs. How on earth was it _possible_ for something to hurt so much?

"Understand?" Kanaye's upper lip curled as he looked down at Ryou in disgust. Ryou hiccupped, and nodded weakly as blood continued to gush down the wall paper. "I _said_," Ryou gasped as Kanaye grabbed the handle of the knife in his right hand. "Understand?"

"YES!" Ryou gasped, hyperventilating again in his panic. "YES! I understand." Kanaye smirked, and let the knife handle go. Ryou's shoulders sagged in relief, but it was short-lived when he remembered his predicament.

"That's good." Kanaye purred, leaning forward to murmur in his ear. "I'd hate to have to teach you another lesson…" Ryou gave an odd gasp, and shook his head, closing his eyes. "No? That's good." He smirked, stepping back to admire his handiwork. Ryou bowed his head as he sobbed, feeling weak. "Now." Kanaye raised his eyes for a moment, before looking back down at Ryou. "It's good that you're standing so quietly." He murmured, looking slightly thoughtful. "After all, I have got a bit of a… Story to tell." Ryou blinked, and swallowed. "Lets see… Where to begin?" Ryou was biting down hard on his lip to suppress his sobs, his hands throbbing. "This story starts… thirty-two years ago." Ryou closed his eyes. "There was a fairytale couple. One was a waitress at a café, and the other was a law student. It was love at first sight. Two beautiful young people, with their whole lives ahead of each other. How could it not be a fairytale couple..." Kanaye started to pace and forth, Ryou whimpering softly.

"A month after they met, the couple married. Their friends said it was too fast, that it would never work out, but they didn't care. They were in love, and that was all that mattered," Ryou licked his lips, starting to feel rather faint. "I hope you're paying attention." Kanaye stopped in his pacing to turn on his heel, and survey Ryou.

"I… I am." Ryou breathed. He lifted his head, tear-stained cheeks shining in the light. Kanaye smiled. He shot another quick glance over to the shaking whitenette, before resuming his pace, back in forth in front of the whitenette.

"Good. Now. Two years after they got married, the fairytale couple had a child. A son." Kanaye curled his hands into fists, chewing on the inside of his lower lip, but Ryou didn't notice. "Times were hard, and he was unexpected, but the couple got through it. They decided not to have any more children though, much to the… displeasure of the son. The couple and their child moved, to a larger apartment when the husband received his qualifications, and a couple of years later, decided to have another child. It was a second son, and he was much quieter, and more sensitive than his older brother. It didn't stop them being the best of friends, though. Ryou, you better be fucking listening."

"I am." Ryou gasped, his knees trembling. He felt as though he wanted to pass out. "I-I am…" Kanaye narrowed his eyes slightly, and nodded.

"Good boy. Life for the family kept getting better and better. They had a nice apartment, the husband had a good job, and the children went to top quality schools. In fact, the older brother graduated from his school with top honours, and received a scholarship to a good college. However, it was this time when everything fell apart." Kanaye let out a long sigh, and his hazel eyes dropped to the floorboards, which were dusty, and smeared with Ryou's blood. Innocent blood. The brunette shut his mind to the thought.

"What happened?" Ryou whispered. His head was erect, and he was staring straight at Sadahiro, his eyes narrowed slightly. Kanaye raised an eyebrow.

"You're interested. That's… Interesting." The brunette blinked. "The wife… She was hiding a very dangerous secret. Her brother was one of several big bosses in a major crime syndicate that reached all over the country. She never told anyone about this, especially her husband, thinking that it was a secret she could hide. She was deadly wrong. One day, enemies of her brother stormed the house, shooting her and her husband point blank as a warning to her brother. The younger brother, who was approaching his teens at this time, was home as well, sick from school, but he hid under the dining room table, and was never seen or caught." Ryou froze, and his eyes widened. His mind drifted back to a conversation he had with a very good friend so many years ago….

"_They were actually murdered. I didn't even know why then. It happened one day when I had recently turned twelve. I was watching T.V in our apartment, when someone started banging at the door. I managed to hide under the table, so I wasn't shot, but my parents were..."_

"Kiyoshi." Ryou breathed. Kanaye pulled up short in his walk, and spun around on his heel. He stared at Ryou right in the eye, his mouth falling open slightly. He remained in that state of shock for almost a minute, before blinking, and nodding.

"He told you." Kanaye muttered. Ryou nodded, weakly, secretly amazed at the fact that him and his torturer were having a real conversation. "You two were closer than I thought." Ryou nodded again, biting his lip. "Huh."

"I'm sorry." Ryou breathed softly, before lowering his eyes to the floor. Kanaye stood silently again, surveying the whitenette through half-lidded eyes. _What is he up to_…

"Anyway." Kanaye continued his walk, his hands now behind his back. "After the parents were shot, the whole family fell apart. The older brother didn't know what to do with his younger sibling, but luckily, they were greeted with a long-lost relative who promised to take care of them."

"Sadahiro." Ryou murmured softly. The whole story was starting o fit into place… He winced in pain, and bit his lip. Kanaye nodded, although Ryou didn't see it.

"The older brother didn't want his charity. He thought that his scholarship and part-time job would keep him going. He was too proud, and too pigheaded to deny his uncles help, and this turned out to be a very smart move. He didn't want to let his younger brother go, but he had no choice, and eventually decided to let his younger brother go and live with his rich uncle, with the promise he would visit at least once a month. This… Wasn't so smart." Ryou swallowed, and tears of sympathy began to mix with the tears of pain that spilled from his eyes. Despite the fact that Kanaye was a twisted psycho who put him through hell, his heart ached for the brunette. _I don't think I could ever give Amane up like that... Even if it was for her better wellbeing..._

"Life went on. The older brother continued to go to college, but dropped out three years later. By then, the younger brother had left high school as well, and started working in his uncle's bar, in an attempt to earn his keep. The older brother was worried, and when he tried to take his younger brother, their uncle wouldn't let him leave, because the younger brother knew of his secret. The older brother was powerless. He was told, under pain of death, to leave, and not come back until the younger brother was eighteen. He obeyed, but when he returned three years later, he found out his younger brother was too meek and afraid to leave his uncle, choosing instead to remain working in the bar, and be his uncles accomplice, especially as his son had left home two years earlier. The older brother wasn't happy, but he allowed this to happen. The younger brother was safe with his uncle, and didn't go against whatever he said. That was, until a teenage boy stumbled in one day, looking for a job." Ryou looked down.

"Me." Ryou whispered. Kanaye snarled, glaring daggers at the male.

"You." He snarled in anger. Kanaye pressed both hands on the wall as he leaned into Ryou, his noses inches from the whitenette's. "This is all _your_ fault." Kanaye smirked as he moved one hand from the wall, and squeezed Ryou's stomach. The whitenette gasped, and arched his back, but didn't scream, remembering Kanaye's threat. "Why do you think my uncle gave this job to me, huh Ryou?" Kanaye wiped the blood on Ryou's shirt again as he stepped away, his eyes wild in his fury. "He doesn't care about you. You were just another boy for him to sell. He's pissed at what you did, but not like me." He grabbed Ryou's collar, and pulled him up slightly. Ryou yelped as pressure was placed on his hands, and his breathing shallowed. "And I'm _glad_ he gave me this opportunity, Ryou. Because I have wanted to get revenge on you for years. If it weren't for you, my brother would be alive." Ryou whimpered softly. "You deserve all of this, and you know it." The whitenette gulped, and sighed as Kanaye released his hold on Ryou's shirt. "Don't you."

"Y-Y-Yes." Ryou managed to choke out, sobbing. "I-I-I deserve this…" Kanaye only smiled, and grasped the knife in Ryou's hand.

"Should I take it out?" Kanaye chuckled, watching Ryou's face. The whitenette gasped and nodded, biting his lip. "Do you think you _deserve_ to have it taken out?" Ryou froze, and then nodded his head, his eyes wide and pleading.

"Please." Ryou gasped, feeling his hands throb in time with his heartbeat. It was _agony_. "Please…" He repeated, hiccupping. Kanaye raised an eyebrow, and tapped on his lower lip in thought.

"Mamoru!" Kanaye walked over to the door, and pulled it open, hinges creaking. "Mamoru, get your ass in here!" Ryou arched his back, sobbing silently. His knees were getting weaker with each passing moment, and he felt as though he would slump to the ground. He tried not to think about what would happen to his hands if he did, and struggled to keep himself upright. He tried to listen in to Kanaye, and Mamoru, who had just arrived at the door, but it was hopeless. They spoke too quietly, for Ryou to hear them.

"Wh-what's going on?" Ryou breathed as Kanaye walked back into the room, and shut it behind him. His heart rate quickened in terror, and he swallowed deeply. "K-Kanaye-"

"Shut up." Kanaye snarled. Ryou whimpered, and fell silent. The brunette smirked as he approached Ryou, and grabbed the knife handle in his left hand. Slowly, Kanaye pulled the knife out of Ryou's hand. The whitenette gasped loudly, and gritted his teeth as the shard of metal rubbed the open wound in his hand. "Baby." Kanaye snorted as he finally extracted the knife, He wiped the blood on Ryou's shirt, and collapsed the knife, placing it in his pocket. Ryou gasped, and raised his left hand up to his eyes. _Oh God... _The hole in his hand was so large, he could see through his hand and to the floor on the other side. _O-Oh_… Ryou felt sick. Blood trickled down his wrist, and started to make a fresh pool on the floor. Kanaye continued to do the same with his right hand. Ryou barely noticed the pain, however. He was too absorbed in his left hand.

_He couldn't move three of his fingers_.

Ryou started to cry again, and when his right hand was free, the whitenette sank to his knees. He squeezed his left fingers, gasping in pain from his right hand being moved, but his three largest fingers wouldn't move. _Oh no... Kanaye cut off the tendons and veins to those fingers... Oh no..._

"Kanaye?" Mamoru placed his head in the door way, and stared around. He grinned at the sight of Ryou on knees, his hands bleeding. "Here ya go." Kanaye lifted his face from Ryou to his cousin, and smirked.

"Thanks." He muttered, taking the bottle of bleach and the mixing bowl. "Hey, did ya find the bowl in the kitchens?" Mamoru nodded. "So they didn't clean up too well, did they?"

"Nah." Mamoru smiled. "Have fun." Mamoru left the room and shut the door. Kanaye chuckled under his breath, and walked back over to Ryou. The whitenette was whimpering softly, clenching his hands together.

"Wh-What are you going to do?" Ryou lifted his eyes from his hands up to Kanaye. His chocolate orbs widened at the bottle of bleach in the brunettes hands, and he shook his head, closing his eyes, fresh tears leaking down his cheeks. "No…"

"You know." Kanaye set the mixing bowl down on the floor. He unscrewed the bottle of bleach, and started to pour the cloudy white liquid into the bowl. "I think my uncle has the wrong idea about inflicting pain on someone. He's probably just going to stab Bakura until he bleeds to death. Too quick. I think it's better to…" Kanaye paused, and finished pouring the bleach into the bowl. He screwed the top shut, and threw the almost-empty bottle away. "Exploit it, I suppose." Ryou stared at the liquid in the bowl, sobbing.

"Wh-What are y-you going to-to do?" He managed to stammer out, his back pressed against the wall. "K-Kanaye?" The brunette's smile widened, and his eyes glittered. He pushed the bowl closer towards Ryou, who shook his head, whimpering.

"From now on, you are going to do exactly what I say." Kanaye ordered. Ryou sniffed, and closed his eyes. "Whatever I say, you're going to do it." He leaned forward, breathing the last sentence in his ear. "Of there will be _dire_ consequences." Ryou gasped. "Understand?"

"Yes." He breathed almost instantly, hyperventilating. He'd learned by now to obey Kanaye. _You're a sick, depraved freak._ Ryou bit his lip, looking back down at his bleeding hands.

"Good." Kanaye smiled. "Now." He leaned back slightly, to look at Ryou straight in the eyes.

"Put your hands in the bowl."

* * *

Argh... Kura next XD

R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

Hiii!

Hehe. ITS TEL EBIL FIC! -eyetwitch- I know it's short... But Bakura is SO much harder to write than Ryou. XD

Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

Everything was a haze of pain.

Bakura groaned, the sound muffled slightly by gag in his mouth. It was fucking _agony,_ his shattered knee and various other knife wounds. Sadahiro was standing over him, laughing and laughing. _Of course you would think it's funny, you depraved psycho_… Bakura raised his head, weakly glaring daggers at the man.

"Oh, this is gold." Sadahiro chuckled. "I thought you were so_ strong_." He leaned forward, leering in Bakura's face. The yami growled, and looked down, closing his eyes. "But look at yourself now. No fight left." The brunette straightened up, and turned away. He reached into his pocket, and extracted a packet of cigarettes. Bakura, being the smoker he was, perked up as Sadahiro opened the carton, pulling out a cancer stick and reaching for his lighter.

"Fuck, I need a fag." Sadahiro leaned against the wall, taking a long drag of the cigarette. Bakura closed his eyes. He could imagine the sensation. The inhalation of the smoky air, the rush… "You smoke?" Bakura blinked, and scowled at the brunette, who only sighed, shaking his head. "I only asked a question, Bakura." The whitenette snarled at the use of his name, and sighed, his shoulders slumping. He nodded weakly, feeling his head spin. "Hmm…" Sadahiro exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"You've been here for a long time, Bakura." The brunette remarked, looking down at his watch. "You were out nearly all night, and it's gonna be noon soon… I bet ya wanna smoke, don't ya?" Bakura growled. _Not from you._ "You must be craving a smoke…" The male leaned forward, and exhaled a cloud of toxic smoke in Bakura's face. The yami blinked, looking away. "No?" Sadahiro smirked. "Okay then." He took one last drag at the cigarette. "I'm finished too." The brunette took the cigarette out from between his lips, flicking away the tip of ash. He walked around behind Bakura, who froze, and swallowed. "I should put this out." His yellowed teeth were bared in a grin as he stubbed the tip of the smoke out on an exposed patch of skin. Bakura gasped, and gritted his teeth as Sadahiro slowly ground the glowing cancer stick into his skin. His upper arm _hurt_ now, the small circle of skin blackened and smoking.

"Hurt?" Sadahiro whispered in Bakura's ear. The whitenette hissed in pain, taking deep breaths. Everything hurt so much… "I bet it does. You've lost a lot of blood, Bakura, I wouldn't be surprised if you passed out soon." Bakura growled, his head spinning. He felt so sleepy…

It was a fresh howl of pain three rooms down that jerked Bakura out of his daze. His eyes snapped open, and he set his teeth. _Ryou baby... What the hell are they doing to you?_ Sadahiro sighed happily to himself, closing his eyes.

"Mmm… Love that sound." He muttered, earning a venomous glare from Bakura. "The sound of _revenge_." Sadahiro chuckled, looking upwards. "Poor, darling Ryou." Sadahiro muttered mockingly, pacing back and forth in front of Bakura. The yami scowled weakly, feeling as though his heart might break as he continued to hear Ryou scream and cry. "Oh dear… The poor, innocent little baby boy." Sadahiro rolled his eyes. "You babied the kid, Bakura." The brunette looked down at his fingernails. Bakura growled, and started to struggle once more, the chair squeaking across the uneven floorboards. "He's twenty-two years old, and you treat him like a child."

_He is!_ Bakura growled. _I was cruel to him, Sadahiro, and that got nowhere. He was meeker and more subdued when I abused him. He's more outgoing now, he does have a backbone. It's his complete terror of you that makes him act the way he does. Even Hulk Hogan would cry like a baby if he was put through what you're putting him through. They shouldn't have locked you in a jail. They should have locked you in an insane asylum. _The yami narrowed his eyes, suppressing a snarl. He was still kicking himself for allowing this to happen. He was Ryou's partner, he was supposed to protect him! These past seven years, Bakura had been slowly building up the relationship. He'd gotten that job so Ryou could focus on his studies, and it was a good idea. Bakura could admit that. He always looked out for Ryou, he'd protected and loved him. And now… Here he was, tied helplessly to a chair while Ryou was going through agony a few rooms away. It hurt Bakura worse than the wounds Sadahiro had inflicted on him. He felt like crying in sympathy for Ryou. If he were all alone, he would have.

"Dad." Bakura froze as the door opened, and Mamoru walked in. Sadahiro looked up, and his eyes softened slightly. Bakura caught the glance, and blinked. "Kanaye's busy with Ryou… I kinda wanna let him have that to himself." Bakura snarled, and his hands tightened into fists. He couldn't move, however. The ropes were just too thick, and too tight.

"Of course." Sadahiro lowered his eyes momentarily in understanding. He knew of the revenge Kanaye wanted to take out on Ryou. From the moment he called his oldest nephew from jail, he lied. Well, he never lied, but he surely stretched the truth, placing more blame on Ryou for Kiyoshi's death than he deserved. Sadahiro was always seen as the bad guy in Kanaye's eyes –he was far less naive than his sibling- But this time, he wanted Kanaye on his side.

"Fuck." Mamoru whistled at the state of Bakura, who still struggled weakly against the ropes. "He's gonna die soon." Sadahiro smirked, and clunked towards Bakura again. The yami growled in his throat, feeling his blood boil. The brunette cocked an eyebrow, grabbing Bakura's chin roughly and forcing him to look up. Sadahiro smirked, staring at the misty, unfocused cloud that veiled Bakura's eyes.

"He's lost too much blood." Sadahiro immediately let go of Bakura's jaw, and the yami groaned weakly, dropping his head limply. "He's not gonna live through this." Sadahiro chuckled. "Not that I planned to let him." Bakura growled, albeit weakly. He knew himself that he'd lost far too much blood. It soaked his hair, his clothes, and dripped onto the floor. _Fuck... But Ryou... Oh God, Ryou... What are they doing to you?_

"Poor Kanaye." Mamoru muttered, perched on the corner of the desk. "Losing Kiyoshi really hit him hard…" Sadahiro growled in his throat.

"It his _all_ of us hard." The brunette scowled, tossing a death glare in Bakura's direction. The yami sighed weakly, and looked up, his eyes bleary. "Huh." Sadahiro smirked, crouching slightly to look Bakura in the eye. "Maybe he needs a little bit of a wake-up jolt." The yami held his breath as Sadahiro's eyes flashed in dangerous sadism. _No. Piss off. I'm fine_…

"How so?" Mamoru smirked, knowing what was coming up. Sadahiro couched on the floor, and started to lift up the hem of Bakura's trouser. The yami growled, and tried to yank his foot away from Sadahiro, but the ropes held his left foot tightly to the leg of the chair.

"Like this." Sadahiro took his knife out of his coat pocket, and pressed it against Bakura's Achilles tendon. The yami froze, his heart stopping in his throat. He struggled desperately against the ropes, tears of pure fear welling in his eyes. _Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare, Sadahiro. I'll_-

The gag barely helped to muffle Bakura's long, agonized scream, as Sadahiro dragged the blade across the back of the yami's heel, effectively severing the extremely sensitive tendon. Bakura arched his back, clenching his eyes shut in distress._ Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit oh shit oh SHIT_. Sadahiro smiled as he stood up, staring as Bakura as he sobbed weakly, unable to deal with the agony of having his Achilles sliced in two. Oh, that _hurt_. Bakura slumped weakly against the chair, closing his eyes. Sadahiro was right, the yami realized, trying so hard not to scream in pain. Bakura actually really wished he was dead. He had never, in a million years, thought that it was even possible for something to hurt as much as his heel.

"Maybe there's a little more fight in you than I thought." Sadahiro leaned down as he smirked. Bakura groaned weakly, his head lolling to one side. He could literally feel the pool of blood on the floorboards underneath his bare feet, and it made him feel sick. "No?" Bakura only opened his eyes blearily, forcing a glare to contort his features. Sadahiro sighed mockingly, and straightened his back, turning away from Bakura.

It was another scream that jolted Bakura out of his haze. Sadahiro smirked, and Mamoru looked away, turning green. He didn't want to think about what Kanaye was doing to the whitenette. Bakura's hands clenched into fists, and the old fire sparked in him once more, flaring in his chest. He set his teeth as Ryou screamed again, the sound muffled. His breathing quickened in his chest, slow and ragged as he heard anxious, running footsteps. A moment later, the three of them heard frantic, desperate pounding on the wall.

"_Help!" _Bile rose in Bakura's throat, and tears pricked in his eyes. _No, Ryou baby... No... What's happening to you? "Someone!" _Sadahiro raised an eyebrow.

"Poor Ryou's getting desperate." He purred, examining his nails. He dug a small crescent of dried blood out from under a fingernail. "I thought Kanaye might have a weak stomach… Guess I was wrong." The man muttered casually.

"_Please!"_ Bakura jerked his head towards the desperate plea, the urge to cry increasing. _No... Ryou no. They can't do this to you, they can't..._ Bakura closed his eyes as they all heard a rough _thump_ from the small room. _No..._

"What the fuck is he doing in there…" Sadahiro muttered to himself, frowning. Bakura gulped, letting out a long breath of air. _Whatever it is, I know it's not good... Ryou you poor baby... I'm so so sorry_… Bakura failed. He failed to protect Ryou from Sadahiro like he promised, and he knew it. His heart hurt almost as much as his severed tendon. _I let them do this to you... I tried fighting back... But I didn't try hard enough. I'm so sorry_… Bakura was lax against the ropes, the blood loss starting to take a huge toll of his beaten, worn down body.

"Mamoru." Bakura blinked, and weakly lifted his head as the door to the room open, and Kanaye put his head in. "Come here for a sec." Bakura narrowed his eyes in anger, growling in his throat, but the action was weak, and half-hearted. _Who am I kidding. I'm fucked. Really fucked. I'm going to die on this chair_…

_What am I saying? I thought I wasn't going to give up. I can't. Ryou... Ryou's just in the room over there. He needs me. He's scared and in pain... I have to be there for him. But I can't move from his damned chair, I'm tied too tight... And I can't walk, not with this knee and ankle..._

"Well, Well." Sadahiro chuckled as Mamoru closed the door behind him. "It looks like it's just you and me again, Bakura." He leaned forward slightly. "I like that." Bakura scowled, trying to look as threatening as he could. "Now, now." He mocked. "Play nice Bakura." He kicked Bakura's left foot, jolting his wounded ankle. The yami arched his back, and suppressed a scream, as a fresh wave of pain crackled up his foot. "Understand?" Bakura snarled, although Sadahiro couldn't see it, and shook his head. _"Listen_." The man growled as he leaned forward. He roughly grabbed Bakura's shattered knee, earning a muffled yelp from the white-haired yami. "Hurts, doesn't it?" He murmured, smiling sadistically. _Fuck you._ He mentally swore, angry. _This is fucked up... But I have to do something. I can't just stay here... I hurts so much..._ Bakura let out a long sigh, looking away from Sadahiro.

"I must say, I'm disappointed." Sadahiro sighed mockingly. "I really thought that you would have put up more of a fight than this. You seemed so _strong_…" The male chuckled as he kicked Bakura's left ankle again. He bit back a scream, and panted softly, wincing in pain. "I guess I was wrong." He sighed, staring down at Bakura's limp, weak form. "You're just a weakling after all." Bakura scowled angrily, shaking his head. "No?" The yami shook his head again, blinking back stars. The wound on the side of his head throbbed at the movement.

"You know…" Sadahiro sighed, turning way from Bakura and walking around to the desk. "I'm quite amazed that you've managed to last so long…" He turned around, casting a glance towards Bakura again. The right arm of his uniform was totally drenched in blood, his hair was sticky from the crimson liquid, and there was a pool of blood on the floor from his slashed Achilles. "You've lost a lot of blood, haven't you, Bakura?" He purred, leaning over to whisper in his ear. Bakura groaned, struggling weakly against the ropes.

"_Help!"_ Bakura gasped as Ryou started screaming again, and pounding on the walls once more. He closed his eyes, tears clinging to his long dark lashes. It was killing him, to hear Ryou scream in agony the way he was. Bakura pressed his lips together as Ryou continued to scream and sob, feeling the moisture grow in the back of his eyes. _No no no. Ryou... Ryou, please. _The pain and exhaustion, coupled with the emotional torment of hearing Ryou deal with his own torture, was too much for Bakura, and he lowered his head, starting to cry. The feeling of nausea increased in the pit of his stomach, and his shoulders shook. Bakura's bangs fell over his face, hiding his eyes from view, but Sadahiro still knew that the yami was crying. Bakura was sure of it.

"What happened?" Sadahiro mocked, leaning down to look at Bakura. "Oh no. Poor, poor Bakura…" He chuckled as he stood up, angrily kicking Bakura's ankle once more. The yami didn't respond, only staring blankly at the floor. He felt weak, and broken down. It were as though all of his fight had been drained out of him. It sure felt like it to Bakura, tied down, broken and bleeding with Ryou three rooms down.

_Ryou._ Bakura gasped when he realized he couldn't hear him screaming any more. _No... No! Ryou! You have to be alive... Please, don't be dead... Oh God, Ryou_… Bakura cried harder, his tears trickling down his cheeks and soaking the cloth gag. He'd never cried. Not since Ryou had been kidnapped those years ago. Bakura never cried, not unless his Ryou was in real danger. _Like now... Ryou? Please, make a sound again, please..._

_Maybe he's okay. _Bakura swallowed deeply. _Maybe they've stopped hurting him for now. I-I can't jump to conclusions like this, I can't. It's only going to make things worse. Ryou's fine. They wouldn't kill him._

_Would they? _

**_No._**

It was the door opening that jolted Bakura out of his inertia. He gasped as the door banged against the wall, and blearily opened his eyes. Kanaye and Mamoru were standing on the threshold, both breathing heavily, eyes wild in fear.

"What's wrong." Sadahiro growled, clenching his hands into fists. Bakura noticed, looking down, and winced.

"U-Ummm…" Mamoru swallowed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well…" He bit his lip. "Kanaye, you tell him."

"Me!?" Kanaye turned away to glare at his cousin. "Why? _You're_ the one that-"

"_What's going on?"_ Sadahiro hissed. The squabbling men fell silent, each looking nothing short of terrified.

"W-Well…" Mamoru finally managed to stutter, looking down. "Ryou's kinda… Well, he's run off."

Bakura's heart soared.

* * *

R&R?


	6. Chapter 6

Waaah, I feel so guilty... Hehehe.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue me.

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"Ryou!"

The whitenette shook his head, whimpering. He was curled against the wall, his folded arms sandwiched between his legs and chest. Kanaye growled, feeling his eye twitch. He pushed the bowl of bleach closer to Ryou, who sobbed, looking away. The brunette growled, and harshly grabbed Ryou's slim, rounded shoulders.

"_Listen._" He hissed, his nose inches from the meeker male. "What was it I told you, huh Ryou?" The whitenette gasped softly, feeling the earth wheel beneath him. "_What_ did I tell you?" Ryou kept his eyes shut, feeling Kanaye's stale breath wash over him.

"Y-You s-said I-I had to o-obey you…" He sobbed, his head bowed. "I-I have to do what you say o-or…" Ryou swallowed, almost hyperventilating in his intense panic. Kanaye smirked, and leaned over Ryou even further, his hands sliding down the bloodstained wall. Ryou shook, and his soft, muted sobbing turned into a panicked gasp as the brunette slid his fingertips inside the waistband of his jeans. "No!" Ryou sobbed, trying to push at Kanaye with his hands without jolting his extremely tender palms. "No!" He repeated as Kanaye slid his hands in further. They were so cold…

"No?" Kanaye lowered his head slightly, and arched his neck so he could look Ryou in the eyes, the males chocolate orbs veiled by his long silver bangs. The man jerked his hands out of Ryou's jeans, and easily gave him a push that sent him sprawling along the floorboards, crying out as his tender hands came into contact with the floor. "Then _listen_ to me, you brat!" Kanaye grabbed a handful of long white hair, and hauled Ryou into a sitting position, despite his squeak of pained protest. "Do you _want_ to see me when I'm _really _angry?" Ryou cried, shaking his head. His hands were clasped together, blood sluggishly trickling down his wrists. His brown eyes swelled in pure terror as he stared down at the bowl of white murky liquid. He shook his head again, crying.

"Please…" He begged with a whisper. "I-I c-can't… I… I…" Ryou broke into fresh sobs, his shoulders heaving. Kanaye rolled his eyes, sneering at the pathetic scene below him.

"_NOW."_ He demanded, releasing his hold on Ryou's long white hair. He swung his fist, cuffing the whitenette painfully across the side of the head. Ryou cried out as the metallic cuff of Kanaye's watch tore at his ear, holding the throbbing wound with his less injured hand. Kanaye stood up, and started pacing back in forth in front of Ryou, who sobbed as he stared at the bowl of bleach. Kanaye kicked him hard in the side with his steel capped boots, effectively cracking at least three of his fragile ribs. Ryou gasped, and shook his head, closing his chocolate orbs for a long moment. Kanaye growled, and they snapped open again, staring back down at the bowl. Slowly, his fingers shaking, Ryou held his arms out, and gently started to lower them. Kanaye crouched on the floor boards with a twisted smile, staring straight into Ryou's face. The whitenette refused to look at him, choosing instead to keep his eyes trained on the bowl of bleach.

_Oh God... He can't do this to me. He can't, He can't... _Ryou felt like passing out as he continued to stare at the bleach. He couldn't even imagine how much it would hurt, to have the corrosive substance ravaging his exposed flesh._ Nothing short of agony..._ Ryou looked down at his hands. Blood slowly dripped from his palms into the bleach, where they were quickly enveloped by the bleach. He gasped, shaking his head.

"This is taking too long." Kanaye growled. Ryou gasped as the brunette grabbed his wrists, eyes wide in horror. He screamed loudly as Kanaye plunged his hands into the plastic bowl, arching his back in agony. _Oh GOD! _He screamed again, fresh tears stinging his eyes. It felt as though acid were eating away at his exposed flesh and bone! Ryou tried to yank his hands out of the substance, his hands throbbing in agony, but failed. He continued to scream and sob, writhing and twisting like an eel in an attempt to escape from Kanaye's iron grip.

"Oh, suck it up." The brunette snarled, his nails digging into Ryou's wrists. The male whimpered, shaking his head. The pounding agony of his hands was too much…

With a burst of strength he didn't know he had, Ryou yanked his arms fiercely from Kanaye's hold. The brunette's mouth fell open in the shock, and he was momentarily stunned as Ryou struggled to his feet. He ran across the room to the wall, and started banging on the walls, sobbing in pain at the movement. He couldn't take it anymore! All of this pain and torture Kanaye was putting him through… Someone had to be here to hear him and help him, there had to be!

"HELP!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice hoarse and scratchy. "SOMEONE!" By this time, Kanaye had recollected himself, and charged towards the male, who continued to beat the wall with his bleeding, throbbing fists. "PLEASE!" Ryou screamed again. He gasped as two strong hands seized his shoulders roughly. _No!_ Ryou yelped as he was thrown to the floor without mercy, his frail, battered form crashing to the floor with a soft, dull _thump._

"You _bitch._" Kanaye growled, his eyes blazing as he placed a foot on Ryou's broken chest. The whitenette sobbed weakly, his heart thudding so hard, Kanaye felt the pulse beneath his boot. "You fucking little _bitch_." Ryou shook his head, tears leaking from wide chocolate orbs. _Please, please... Let me go_… "I'm going to make you_ pay_ for that, Ryou."

"No." The whitenette gasped. "Please…" He yelped in pain as Kanaye applied more pressure on his ribs. "No!" He yelped, sobbing.

"Shut up!" Kanaye growled. He lifted his foot from Ryou's chest, and kicked his cracked ribs one last time, before turning away. "I'm gonna make you pay, Ryou." He hissed, narrowing his eyes. Ryou sobbed, slumped into the bloodstained floorboards. He closed his eyes as Kanaye slammed the door, and rolled over onto his back. Everything ached, and his hands throbbed in agony, still bleeding. _What's Kanaye going to do to me? Oh no... No! _

Finally, Ryou managed to sit up. He sat up, his less injured hand clutching his stomach. He sobbed weakly as he struggled to his feet, and then staggered across the room. The whitenette leaned against the wall, and started desperately pounding with his bleeding hands.

"_Help!" _Ryou screamed with what felt like the last of his voice, banging on the walls. He pounded harder, anguished sobs tearing from his throat. _Someone has to be there! Help me! Someone! _He continued to bang on the wall for a few more moments, until he realized the truth.

No one was coming. Ryou was alone.

He slid down the wall, and curled into the floor. He felt like giving up… This was going to be his only chance to escape before Kanaye would eventually kill him, and he couldn't get out…

Could he?

Ryou looked up, and stared at the door. He shakily stood up, and weakly wobbled over to the door. He tried it, but there was so use. Ryou leaned his forehead against the wood paneling, and felt like crying. That door was the only way out of the room! Ryou was trapped there, forced to endure God knows what, and he couldn't do a thing about it! The whitenette rolled over, leaning his back against the wall and closing his eyes. Tears trickled from his closed eyelids, and he sobbed. _I have to get out of here! I have to! There has to be something! _

_Okay..._ Ryou slowly opened his eyes. There had to be something to help him escape! He stared around the room, swallowing. _Okay... Let's see. There's the bed and the blankets, that old rickety chair, the air vent, that bowl and bottle-_

_Air vent! _

Ryou grinned, and he limped towards the back wall. He looked up at the air vent, swallowing. It was too high for him to reach… He limped towards the old chair, and grabbed it. _It's not very stable..._ He thought as he set the chair up under the vent. _But it has to do_… Ryou slowly started to climb up on the chair, wincing as his various wounds twinged in pain. He gasped as the frail metal legs wobbled, and stared at the vent, which was eye-height. _It's still really high_… He mentally fretted. His right arm dangling uselessly at his side, Ryou grabbed the vent. It took a moment of struggling, but finally, Ryou was able to cast the grate to the floor, where it clattered on the boards.

It was sheer determination that allowed Ryou to climb into the air vent. He couldn't use his left hand at all, and his right hand was almost as bad. The whitenette groaned, pressing his elbows firmly against the sides of the vent, and hauling himself in. He kicked his feet slightly, and the chair clattered to the floor. Ryou gasped, his feet dangling in mid air. _Oh no! What do I do?_ He closed his eyes, his stomach tense. The slashed muscles were on fire, but Ryou knew he couldn't stop. He was up to his waist in the air vent, almost hyperventilating. _Ow! I have to do something! I have to! I have to get out of here… I can't stay here! Kanaye is going to kill me..._

Ryou's teeth were gritted in pain as he continued to struggle into the air vent. _I'm not giving up. I'm not giving up. I'm not giving up..._ Ryou dug his elbows in more, digging his toes in the wall at an attempt as leverage. _Not giving up..._

It was almost five minutes of struggling before Ryou was mainly inside the air vent, his knees sticking out in the room. He lay lax on the metal floor, panting in pain and exertion. _Oh... Oh I'm so tired... It all hurts_… Ryou sniffed, blinking back tears. _Oh that hurts. Oh.._. Ryou peeled a curtain of hair, sticky with sweat, from his cheek, and rolled over slightly. The air vent was tiny- He couldn't lie down completely side on, meaning he had to stay on his stomach. Ryou groaned, resting his forehead on the cool metal. _What do I do? I don't think I can move..._

_No! _Ryou's eyes snapped open, and he shook his head. _No! I can't give up... I have to live. I'm not gonna die. I'm not gonna die_. Ryou gritted his teeth, and dug his bleeding wrists into the floor. Slowly, painfully, Ryou dragged himself through the metal shaft, which was too small to properly crawl through. It was claustrophobic, struggling through the vent, with metal enclosed on all sides. He couldn't go back. He could only move forward, the terrible darkness pressing in on him._ I'm insane. I'm in a house God know where, I can barely move, and I'm most probably bleeding to death... _Ryou suppressed a sob. _How could this be happening? How... I didn't do anything to deserve this! And now_… The whitenette was dragging his slender form through the shaft, sniffing and whimpering in pain. _I-I have to get out of here..._

It was like a coffin. Ryou's heart sank when he realized this. A metal coffin. _And it might be... It's either do or die._ _If I don't get out of this, it's over. I can't turn back now._ Ryou sniffed, and continued to drag himself through the vent. He was starting to grow weaker with every inch he dragged himself. _If I don't get out of here quick, I'm never going to get out._ He gasped for air, tears filling his eyes. _It hurts! I can't do this, I can't do this_… Ryou sank into the metal, lax. He sobbed weakly, his forehead resting against the cool metallic surface. _I can't... It's just too painful. _He sniffed, sobs wracking his frail, trembling frame. _This was too much. I shouldn't have expected so much of myself..._

"Help…" Ryou breathed softly, resting his head on the metal floor. He _hated_ this claustrophobic cavern! "Help… Someone… I can't stay here…" His hands and stomach throbbed, and tears pushed at his eyelids. "No…" Ryou gasped. "I've made it this far. I'm not gonna die." He lifted his head, digging his elbows in the vent tunnel. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead in exertion as he continued to drag himself through the vent, panting and sobbing in pain and exhaustion.

Finally, after what seemed a million years, Ryou saw a light. A wide, exhausted grin spread across his face as he sped up his motions, gritting his teeth to keep from screaming. _I did it!_ He continued to crawl towards the light, until finally he was able to make out where it was coming from.

Ryou's heart sank. _No! NO!_ He closed his eyes, starting to cry again. It was merely another slanted grating, the rays of light angular and filtered. Ryou narrowed his eyes softly, staring through the bars. He blinked, and bit on his lip. He was staring into a large room, that contained an old, solid wooden desk, a couple of small, metal-framed chairs, and the broken pieces of a small student desk, The window had been boarded, but several of the planks had been torn free, baring light into the shattered fragments of a room.

_It's a classroom._ The whitenette realized. _I... I think I'm in a school..._ Ryou chewed on his lower lip, and traced the fingertips of his right hand alone the bars. He weakly tugged but to no avail. _No!_ Ryou tried his hardest to rattle the bars, but failed. _Oh no..._ Ryou peered through the vague light to try and see what on earth was going on. _Oh... This vents screwed in... No!_ Ryou cried harder. _No... It can't be… It can't!_ He sobbed. _No. There has to be a way out of here. All vents have to go somewhere. I just have to keep going. Hopefully I can get out of here before I bleed to death_… Ryou sighed, and started to drag himself again. _I have to keep going._

While Ryou dragged himself slowly through the tunnel, which was twisting and turning this way and that, he thought of Bakura. Where was he? Was he at home, waiting anxiously beside the fire? No, that wasn't his style. He would be out combing the city for him and tracking Sadahiro down. _Or maybe he's been taken in by Sadahiro too. Oh no... What if Sadahiro killed him?_ Ryou closed his mind to the thought. _No way. Don't think like that, Ryou! He'll be okay. Bakura's a fighter. A strong fighter._ Ryou was thinking these thoughts as he forced himself through the tunnel. He wanted nothing more than to give up, to collapse into the metal and pass out, but he knew he couldn't. _If I fall asleep, I might not wake up again_… Ryou winced as his hands throbbed, the torn muscles and tendons red and raw. _Oh, that hurts_…

It was the _creak_ that made Ryou gasp, and freeze. His mouth fell open as floor creaked again._ Oh no. That's not good that's not good… That's **really** not good... _Ryou yelped as the vent buckled, and instinctively held his hands over his head, although that would have done nothing. There was a sharp _ping_ as bolts started to give out, and Ryou screamed as the metallic tunnel cracked, not unlike an egg. Ryou grabbed for something, anything, as he was tipped out of the vent, but the surface was smooth- and anyways, his hands were nowhere strong enough to support his own bodyweight.

Ryou screamed as he fell, his heart seizing in panic. He was only falling for a moment before he fell, a hard _thump_ on the glossy wooden floor. He lay there gasping, temporarily winded for a moment, before he registered the pain in his arm. Ryou gasped, and arched his neck, screwing his eyes shut in agony. He whimpered softly as he looked down at his left arm, and winced. It didn't look it, but Ryou was sure the bone was broken. It certainly felt like it… Ryou clutched at his arm, lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. He gritted his teeth harder, trying so hard not to scream in pain. Eventually, the reality of what had just happened sank in, and Ryou sat up in shock.

_I'm out._ He blinked, wincing at the pain in his stomach. He clutched at it with his good stomach, and bit his lip. _I'm out of the air vent!_ Ryou smiles slightly as he looked at the high ceiling above him, and the air vent, supported by only a few wires, suspended from the ceiling. He blinked, and then looked around the room, at the polished floors, the warped basketball hoops, and the bleachers. A long time ago, this had been a nice place, but now, it had gone to rack and ruin. Ryou swallowed. _A gym. I am in a school... Wait. Gyms always have fire doors!_ He gasped as he shakily stood up, and stumbled weakly over to the firedoors on the other side of the hall. He was only halfway there, however, when he froze, closing his eyes.

Locked.

Ryou's heart plummeted. He wanted to sit down and cry, but instead, he looked around the room once more. A window! The panes had been smashed in, large shard of glass hanging to the frame. Ryou almost ran over to the window, biting his lip. The windows were large and low, almost at his waist. Ryou gulped, and grabbed at the windowsill with his good hand. He gasped in pain, and swallowed deeply, but tried to force the sensation down. Ryou pulled himself up, his chest resting on the large sill. He winced as his broken ribs were jostled, and swung one leg over. _I'm doing it! I'm going to get out of here, I'm going to get out_… Ryou yelped as he lost his balance, and collapsed onto the ground. He gasped as he fell on dirt and shards of glass, and gritted his teeth. Eventually, with the aid of the windowsill, Ryou managed to haul himself back up.

His heart sank when he looked around him, and his mouth fell open. It was a playground. A derelict playground, to say the best. The metal framed jungle gym was rusted, and overgrown with a thorny weed. The wind set only had one swing remaining, one chain trailing to the ground, and the monkey bars were also grown over with the thorny plant. It looked like the scene of a horror movie. The sky was dim, and heavy with cloud. A gust of wind rushed across the scene, and Ryou shivered, his teeth chattering in both cold and fear. His eyes widened as he looked past the overgrown, rusting fence, and across the torn-up road. The houses were falling to bits, with waist-high grass, the windows boarded, paint peeling, and boards rotting. There were gaps where houses should have been, but instead there were plots of dirt, covered in incredibly long grass and thick with weeds. Ryou started crying.

Wherever he was, Ryou was a very, very long way from home.

* * *

Ooooh, the plot gets... Plotty? Meh. XD

Only a couple more chapters to go. The next one will be mixed Kura/Ryou POV, too. -sigh-

R&R?


	7. Chapter 7

Argh. Sorry for the late update. And the shortness, and the crappyness, and the... Well.. You'll see. X.x''

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Shut up.

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"Where the fuck is he?"

Ryou's heart froze in his chest, as the distant voice of Kanaye glided over the playground. He started to hyperventilate, weak in his knees. _No! They can't find me! I can't be caught!_ The whitenette stared around the playground in horror, looking for somewhere to hide. His eyes, wide in fear, darted around the derelict playground. Kanaye was swearing and shouting, his footsteps echoing around the corner of the crumbling, redbrick building. Ryou held a hand over his mouth, still looking around. He didn't dare to run too far from the side of the building, in case Kanaye saw him. His chocolate-coloured eyes settled on the closest thorny bush beside him, and he swallowed. Ryou stumbled the few steps towards the bush, before flinging himself down on the ground. Ryou stifled a scream as he jolted his broken arm, but rolled underneath the bush all the same.

_OW!_ Ryou bit his lip as thorns painfully dug into him on all sides. He whimpered, but buried himself as deep inside the bush as he possibly could. The thorny bush was so thick, Ryou couldn't see a thing outside- But the sharp pressure on his left eyelid made him too afraid to open his eyes anyway- but he could still hear. Ryou gritted his teeth, trying his hardest not to move_. Oh, this was **not** a good idea... How on earth am I going to get out?_

"Where the fuck is he?" Kanaye repeated, stomping around the corner. Ryou suppressed a gasp, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. His heavy footsteps came to a stop right beside the bush, and Ryou trembled. _No no no. Don't find me… The bush is pretty thick, he shouldn't be able to see me._ Ryou suppressed tears as he heard Kanaye practically breathe right beside.

"I don't know!" Mamoru muttered. "He's probably running off as far as he could. He's not gonna go far, Kanaye, he's caged in." Kanaye growled, and kicked at the wall.

"Fuck it!" He yelled. "Ryou's not up to running anywhere, he's hiding. I know it. We gotta search the place." Ryou whimpered, very softly. "Go through the school again, and I'll look over the playground, and those houses." Ryou heard Mamoru run off, and bit his lip. He was already trying to plan his next move. _Kanaye has to go back around the other side of the school... I'll yank myself out, and run. I can't give up. I can't... What does he mean, I'm caged in, anyways?_ Ryou licked his lip, struggling to tune his ears into Kanaye's footsteps. He could hear the man as he stomped away, back around the building, and eventually faded. Ryou sighed, and relaxed slightly. _Okay. Now I have to get out_… He sniffed, his heart thudding in anticipation. _It's going to hurt… Oh, I don't want to do this._

Ryou bit on his lower lip as he rolled over, his clothes and skin tearing. He clenched his eyes shut in pain, putting the pressure on his wrists as he continued to battle his way out of the bush! It _hurt_! Panicking, Ryou started to struggle, the movement only digging the thorns deeper into his soft skin. _This was **not** a good idea..._ Panting, Ryou continued to yank his way out of the bush, sobbing weakly.

Finally, the whitenette managed to drag himself out of the bush. He slumped into the bare dirt, sobbing weakly in pain. His broken arm felt as though it was on fire, and his hands throbbed in fresh agony. Ryou whimpered, painfully sitting up. He clutched his stomach, gasping. His legs felt as though they were made of jelly, and his head spun. Ryou turned his head, looking back towards the bush. His eyes widened when he noticed a few tendrils of snowy white hair snared on the branches, and his 'good' hand drifted up to his head. _When did that happen? I barely felt it._ Ryou sighed, looking down at himself. Thankfully, he was wearing jeans, meaning his legs were almost completely whole, but his arms… Ryou stared at the white shin, ripped and bleeding. He closed his eyes, wincing every time he moved his back, which had been shredded as he got up.

_I have to move._ Ryou's eyes snapped open, and he bit his lip. _I have to! Kanaye's going to come back, and if he finds me... _Ryou choked back tears. _I'm worse than dead. _Ryou gasped as he wobbled to his feet, doubling over in a daze. _Oooh, I don't feel too good._ He swallowed deeply, before straightening again, clutching his head. The whitenette stared around him one more time, biting his lip, before taking off in a stumbling run. Ryou dodged the overgrown, rusty frames of the jungle gym and swings, before collapsing on the torn-up road with a yelp.

"Crap!" Ryou cried out as he unintentionally threw out his hands to stop his fall. He moaned, doubling over with his hands between his legs, sobbing. His broken arm hurt even more, and his hands were on fire. "Oh God… I can't do this." He moaned, sobbing weakly. "I-I c-can't…"

"RYOU!" The whitenette froze, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. He heard Kanaye's heavy boots clunk against the ground as he started to run. It was pure adrenaline and fear that made Ryou straighten himself, and turn around, starting to run. For once, his feet didn't give out on him as he fled across the road, stepping over the splintered remains of a picket fence. Unfortunately for him, though, he tripped, and was sent sprawling into the long grass. Kanaye swore loudly as he stepped onto the cracked road, and Ryou scrambled up, battling his way through the waist-length grass. He was hyperventilating as he ran across to the back of the house, stumbling.

"Oh_ no_." Ryou moaned, staring around himself. He was fenced in. The fence was at least five feet high, and he was in no state to climb it. The gap between the right side of the house and the fence was blocked off with a tall, locked gate. Ryou spun around, meaning to go back and run, but what he saw made him start to cry.

Ryou always had the ability to make himself cry on cue, and it sounded so realistic and convincing, he even worried Bakura a few times over the years. But he was seriously sobbing as Kanaye smirked, several feet away from him. Ryou shook his head as he started backing away from the man, who only walked towards him slowly, a smile on his face that Ryou didn't like at all.

"You thought you could run away." Kanaye said smoothly as Ryou continued to back up, sobbing softly. "Stupid idiot. That's why my uncle chose this place specially, you know. You can't run. There's no escaping, Ryou. There's nothing you can do, but accept your fate." Ryou shook his head, closing his eyes as his back hit the fence. He hid his face in his hands, crying.

"Please…" He whispered uselessly. "Please… I'm so sorry… But I don't wanna die… I-I don't…" Kanaye snarled, and lunged for the whitenette. Ryou, being the smaller and lighter man, tried to dodge away from the brunette, but Kanaye reached out, and grabbed a handful of white hair, pulling Ryou against his chest. The male screamed, and instantly started to struggle as Kanaye wrapped an arm around his waist, placing heavy pressure on his stomach.

"Let me _go!_" Ryou screamed, arching his back and struggling. Kanaye smirked, tightening his arm around Ryou's waist even further. The brown-eyed male yelped, desperately flailing his arms.

"It's useless, trying to escape." Kanaye smirked in Ryou's ear. "It's over."

* * *

"Let me go!"

Bakura's eyes widened, and he jerked his head up, despite his fatigue. His breath stilled on his throat as he heard Ryou scream, and his hands started to shake.

"About fucking _time._" Sadahiro snarled as Kanaye opened the door. Bakura's heart stopped when he saw the slim figure struggling weakly in the brunette's arms, covered in blood. _No_. Bakura's mouth fell open underneath the gag as he stared at the whitenette. Kanaye dumped Ryou onto the ground unceremoniously, and the whitenette sat up with a whimper. He spun around on his rear, staring up at Kanaye and Sadahiro. Bakura's heart ached as he watched Ryou scoot back up on his rear, sobbing weakly. _What have they done to you..._ Ryou gasped as his back hit Bakura's legs. The yami gritted his teeth as his left leg was jolted, and Kanaye laughed. Ryou jerked his head around, to look at the guy he had backed into him.

Bakura. Ryou's mouth fell open, and his heart sank. _NO!_ Ryou's eyes welled up with fresh tears, and he fell back on his hands at the sight of the yami. He jerked his hands up with a yelp, wincing. Bakura stared at Ryou's hands, his heart sinking. _You bastards. You fucking bastards! I'm going to kill all of you for hurting Ryou like this!_ Ryou stared up at Bakura, feeling sick. All this time he'd clung to the hope that Bakura was going to rescue him, and now… He was in a worse state than Ryou. The whitenette bowed his head, beginning to cry. Bakura simply stared at Ryou, shaking like a leaf.

"How touching." Sadahiro snarled, curling his upper lip. Ryou started screaming as the man grabbed his hair, winding the long locks around his hand. Bakura snarled, struggling again underneath the ropes. _Get your fucking hands **off** Ryou right now, or I'll-_

"Let me go!" Ryou yelped, crying out as Sadahiro raised his hand, yanking Ryou up so he was on his knees. Bakura growled, trying to hard to yank his arms out from the ropes. Kanaye chuckled, and walked past Bakura, over to the desk. Ryou whimpered, struggling weakly.

"Got it." Kanaye sneered, lifting up the glass bottle. "This look familiar, Bakura?" He waved the large jar in front of his eyes. Bakura froze. _No._ "It should, it came straight from your workshop."

"What is it?" Ryou whimpered, looking up at Kanaye. Bakura felt sick as he looked down on Ryou, his heart thudding. _Oh no... FUCK._ _He wouldn't dare._

"Battery acid." Kanaye smirked. "People use it to refill batteries, don't they Bakura?" The yami froze. Three years ago, he had been refilling a battery himself, when he was knocked, and Bakura splashed a tiny amount on his hand.

He still had the scar.

The yami shook his head desperately, still staring at Ryou. He couldn't believe that this was his baby, his little angel broken and sobbing on the floor, covered in his own blood. _He wouldn't... He can't..._ Ryou yelped as he was shoved down onto the floor, crying out as his stomach came in contact with the ground. Sadahiro smirked as he pushed his foot down on Ryou's rear, pinning him to the floor. Bakura's eyes were wide, and he was rigid in shock. Sadahiro bowed down, and in one swift movement, he grabbed Ryou's shirts, easily tearing them down his back. Ryou was still struggling weakly on the floor, sobbing. He didn't realize what was going on, but Bakura did. The yami was in tears as he struggled with the ropes, staring at Ryou's exposed back. It was already scratched from his excursion in the thorn bush, but within a minute, Bakura knew it was going to be much worse.

Kanaye smirked as he handed Sadahiro the bottle, and crouched down beside Ryou, one hand on the floor to balance himself.

"You never should have run away." He said smoothly. "I told you what was going to happen if you did Ryou. I don't think you took my threat seriously." Ryou blinked, shivering slightly as his back was exposed to the cold air. Bakura was struggling madly, screaming underneath the gag. Sadahiro chuckled to himself as he carefully unscrewed the lid of the large glass bottle, and holding it at the bottom, emptied it out over Ryou's back.

Ryou screamed. He arched his neck, clenching his hands into fists as the corrosive acid burned his skin. Kanaye jumped back, swearing as some of it splashed from Ryou's back onto the floorboards, where it hissed, burning through the wood. Bakura could only watch in horror, staring at the pale skin as the acid ate away at Ryou's skin. Ryou continued to scream in agony, his back literally smoking as the acid started to wear away the sensitive muscles on his back. Kanaye stood up, staring down at Ryou in contempt as he continued to scream and cry in huge pain. Bakura was sobbing as he struggled with the ropes, staring at Ryou. He still refused to believe that this was happening to his light. _How could they do this to him? How can they hurt him like this._

"You see, Ryou." Sadahiro screwed the cap, and threw away the bottle. "And you, Bakura." He tossed the yami a glare. Ryou was still sobbing and screaming in total agony. The acid was still eating away at his muscles with a terrible hissing sound, and Ryou couldn't move. "This is what you get." He raised his voice over Ryou's and started pacing around him in a circle. "For thinking that you could outwit me. I always get what I want. _Always._ Wouldn't things be so much better if you had just let me done my work?" Bakura growled, but didn't break his gaze from Ryou, who was slumped onto the floor, sobbing and screaming. "I would have made sure that Ryou would have been taken care of." He prodded Ryou's trembling form with his bad foot. "And we wouldn't have to have gone through this… unpleasantness." He sneered, looking down at Ryou. Bakura shook his head, sobbing. He was exhausted, drained, and watching Ryou in that horrible pain just broke his heart.

"Mamoru's gonna be back in about ten minutes." Kanaye looked at his watch. "We should get this over with." Sadahiro smirked, and nodded. "Hold Ryou's head still." Bakura was stock still, staring at Ryou in shock as the elder man seized Ryou cruelly, forcing him into a sitting position. Ryou screamed as his back was moved, blood dripping onto the floor. Kanaye smirked as he picked up the glass bottle, unscrewing the lid. Bakura screamed behind the gag, struggling. The brunette grabbed Ryou's hair in one hand, forcing his head back. Kanaye tilted the lip of the bottle a few inches away from Ryou's face. Terrified brown eyes stared up into Kanaye's face, his vision blurry with tears.

It would be the last thing he would ever see.

Bakura's heart stopped as Kanaye tipped the last of the battery acid over Ryou's eyes. Both of the brunette males stood back, releasing Ryou as he pitched forward, held his hands over his eyes, and screamed. The sensation of acid disintegrating his eyelids, destroying his brown eyes in their sockets was horrendous. Acid leaked onto Ryou's hands as he bowed his head, but the whitenette didn't pay an ounce of attention to that pain. All he could think about was his eyes, and the horrific agony he was enduring. Ryou pressed his palms as deep into his eye sockets as he could, twisting his working fingers into his hair. His eyes were practically melting in his skull, blood trickling down his cheeks.

"Oh, does that hurt?" Kanaye murmured, leaning down to whisper into Ryou's ear. The whitenette sobbed, wavering on his knees. "Don't worry… Not long now before it'll all be over." Ryou shook his head, keeping his head bowed.

A car honked outside. Kanaye swore, and looked at his watch. He stood up, and cast a look over to Sadahiro.

"It's Mamoru." He muttered. "We have to go now." Sadahiro only nodded nonchalantly, before grabbing his pocketknife and approaching Bakura. The yami screamed through the gag, but it was hopeless. Bakura gasped, and arched his neck as the knife was wedged into his stomach, and left it there.

"They'll bleed to death before they burn." Sadahiro turned to leave the room. "This is what you get for crossing me… And don't for a second think your Egyptian friends are safe, either." He cast one more look over to Ryou, who was hunched over on the floor, clutching his destroyed eyes. The skin on his back was completely gone, and his vertebrae was visible through the mass of burnt tissue, as well as the odd glimpse of a white rib bone. Sadahiro shifted his gaze to Bakura, who was staring at Ryou in horror, covered in blood. "See you sons-of-bitches in hell." He snarled, before slamming the door. Bakura was vaguely aware of the sound of a key turning, but was too busy staring at Ryou.

"Kura…" Ryou moaned as soon as he was able to speak. "H-Help…" Bakura burst into tears, physically and emotionally exhausted. He tried speaking through his gag, but it was hopeless, he couldn't make a distinguishable word. Ryou got the message however, and started to weakly shuffle towards Bakura. He removed his hands from his eyes, but couldn't see anything. He started to cry again, his arms stretched out in front of him as he searched for the yami. Ryou's fingers finally brushed the leg of the chair, and he gasped. Crawling on his knees, he ran his hand up Bakura's leg until he found his knee. Panting and sobbing in pain and exhaustion, Ryou finally managed to climb into Bakura's lap. The yami gritted his teeth as his sore spots were knocked, but fought back the urge to scream.

Ryou hand shook as he reached up, and yanked down the gag. Bakura gasped as the cloth was torn from his mouth, staring at Ryou. He couldn't look into Ryou's eyes. It turned his stomach.

"Ryou…" He whispered, his nose inches from the light. "Oh fuck, Ryou…" The whitenette burst into tears, and buried his head in Bakura's shoulder. His hand still tied, the yami rested his chin on Ryou's shoulder. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'm so so sorry…" Bakura continued to whisper this to the smaller male, who was finally silent and still. _He's going into shock_… **_no._** "Ryou… You have to stay alert, okay? You have to snap out of this now…" Ryou was still, apart from his violent shaking, that wracked his slender frame. "Fuck… Ryou, please." He whispered, unable to move. "Ryou… You have to snap out of this now. Untie me, and I'll get us both out of this mess, I promise. Look... There's a fucking knife in my stomach. Just yank it out, and slice the ropes. _PLEASE._" Bakura moaned.

"Please, Ryou. Just snap out of this. _Please_…"

* * *

Argh. I am so sorry...

At least next chapter is the last chapter... Right?

Review?


	8. Chapter 8

Hahaha. Look! I wrote the whole damn thin in one sitting from 12AM-2AM, so don't blame the shittiness, 'kay? XD

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Poo.

* * *

Bakura groaned, feeling dizzy. Ryou was still straddling him, his face buried in the crook of the yami's neck. In any other time, the yami would have been totally aroused, being tied to a chair, Ryou straddling his hips. But there was nothing sexual, or arousing about the calamity that Bakura was in. Ryou was rigid against him, his tense muscles shaking like a leaf. Both were covered in blood, and Bakura just couldn't look into Ryou's eyes- Or rather, burnt out holes where his eyes used to be. It was just too sickening.

"Ryou." He muttered, his lips buried in the teenagers hair. "You have to listen to me. I only want you to do one thing, then I'm going to get us out of here." Ryou was still silent and unmoving. "Fuck! Ryou, please!" Bakura shouted hoarsely. "We have to get out of here before we bleed to death." Ryou whimpered, very softly. "I know you're scared." Bakura muttered. "And I know you're in a lot of pain. But you have to trust me… Do you trust me?" Ryou was still. "Ryou… I know you can hear me. You have to trust me if you want to live." Bakura sighed, and bowed his head as much as he could. His temple throbbed in fresh annoyance, but he pushed it down, finding Ryou's lips, and kissing him, hard. He forced his tongue in between Ryou's lips, massaging his mouth with as much force as he could muster. _Damn it, Ryou. Snap out of this!_

Bakura tilted his head to one side, deepening the kiss further. He even bit on Ryou's tongue, but there was no response. The yami groaned, trying his hardest to get an action from Ryou in the only way he could.

Finally, Ryou kissed Bakura back. He stirred, and the yami froze as he felt Ryou's tongue against his. He yanked his mouth out of the males', earning a soft whine from Ryou.

"Look!" Bakura growled. "Ryou! You have to touch my stomach, okay? You're going to find a… A knife handle." He gritted his teeth in pain. Ryou sniffed, and trailed his good hand down Bakura's chest, until his fingertips found the knife handle. He gasped softly, and struggled to grasp it. "Okay." Bakura suppressed a scream. "Now… I want you to yank it out. Quickly." He added, feeling the knife stir in his gut. Ryou nodded weakly, and pulled, as hard as he could. Bakura groaned softly, arching his back as the piece of metal was removed. "Okay. The yami panted. "That's… That's good. Now…." Bakura took a deep breath, feeling his work shirt soak with more blood. "Y-You have to take it, and see these ropes on my chest? You have to cut them with the knife." Ryou nodded weakly, and Bakura bit his lip as the point of the knife was dragged back up his torso. Ryou found the coarse ropes, and quickly sliced through them with the ropes.

Bakura sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose. _Smells like smoke... Huh_. He looked down at Ryou, staring at the knife. He sniffed the air again, narrowing his eyes. Was that _crackling?_ Bakura's heart stopped in his chest.

No.

"Ryou." Bakura tried to keep his voice calm. "Listen to me. You _have _to cut the ropes on my hands, now. Just reach behind, and slice them. I don't even care if you nick the skin, just do it right now."

"Why?" Ryou whispered, grasping the knife with his shaking right hand. Oh, his back and eyes hurt… Bakura bit his lip, and looked down.

"Just… Slice the ropes." Bakura commanded. "Now." Ryou nodded weakly, and leaned over, his chest crushed against Bakura. He let his right arm dangle, using his left arm to feel around. His heart was pounding in the fear that he would never see again…

"Got it." Ryou whispered in Bakura's ear, and started to saw through the ropes. Bakura gasped, gritting his teeth as Ryou missed, slicing skin at one point, but the moment that his hands were released, Bakura grabbed the knife.

"Now get down." Bakura commanded. "Just slide off of my lap, and onto the floor, quickly. Trust me." The yami added, sensing Ryou's uncertainty. The whitenette nodded, and slid onto the floor, crying out as he was knocked around. Bakura stared at the limp form on the floor for a long moment, feeling as though he were going to cry again. The yami swallowed, and shook away the ropes, leaning down to cut the ropes at his ankles. _I have to stay on task, if I want to get us out of here. We're not gonna die. Ryou's given up, and I can't blame him... Fuck, Sadahiro's in trouble when I get my hands on him..._

"Kura?" Ryou whimpered, lifting his head. "Where…" The yami sighed, yanking off the broken ropes.

"I'm here." Bakura grabbed the knife, and stood up.

He screamed.

The yami collapsed onto the floor, clutching his knee in agony. His sliced Achilles started bleeding again, and Bakura howled, doubled over.

"FUCK!" He gasped, sobbing. "Oh, fuck." He gritted his teeth, arching his back and hissing. Ryou whimpered, trying to drag himself towards the sound of the yami.

"Kura?" He whispered weakly, shaking. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Bakura replied quickly, looking down at his knee. "I should have told you… Sadahiro smashed my knee in with a sledgehammer." If Ryou had eyes, they would have been the size of saucers. "And that really sensitive tendon at the heel… He cut it. I can't walk." Bakura almost crumpled. This threw all chances of their escape right out the window. Ryou was sobbing weakly in hopelessness. "There has to be a way out…"

"Wh-Why can… I smell smoke?" Ryou asked haltingly. Bakura bit his lip. "Kura?" The yami sighed, wiping at his eyes.

"They lit the place on fire." Bakura muttered in realization. "That was why left us. We're going to burn to death in here." Ryou was very still, and then he shook his head from side to side.

"N-No!" Ryou gasped. "We can't… I-I… W-We can't burn to death…" Bakura bit his lip, blinking as he looked around. The crackling grew louder, and the yami was sure that the room was slowly filling up with smoke. Ryou was sobbing, slumped into the grimy floorboards.

"We wont." Bakura sighed. "The smoke will probably suffocate us. And if it doesn't…" Bakura felt sick. "I won't let you burn to death, Ryou, I promise."

"You'll get us out?" Ryou whispered, looking hopeful. Bakura shook his head, before remembering that his younger lover couldn't see him.

"I never said that." He muttered hollowly. Ryou gasped as Bakura realized what Bakura meant. "I-I don't want to see you suffer Ryou… And I could get you through the eye socket, it would be painless…"

"No!" Ryou gasped. "Bakura… No. We… We have to get out of here. We have to get out or die trying… Couldn't I help you walk, or something?" Bakura snorted.

"I doubt you can walk, Ryou." The yami muttered hopelessly. "Let alone drag me along too… But it was a good thought."

"No." Ryou gasped. "We have to try… Come over to me, I'll try standing…" Bakura stared in shock as Ryou got onto his knees, leaning on his wrists. "You there?"

"Here." Bakura hurriedly shuffled towards Ryou. "Okay… I'm gonna put an arm around your shoulders, and you _try_ stand up. If it's too much, just say so, and I'll let go, okay?" Ryou nodded limply. He gasped as Bakura threw an arm around his shoulders, and his good hand searched midair, until he found Bakura's fingers. He clenched on tightly, and sobbing, Ryou tried to stand up. Bakura balanced on his working foot, gasping in pain. Ryou was sobbing, but he didn't tell Bakura to stop. Instead, he put one foot in front of the other, shifting his pressure. The yami hopped, following him.

"I-I can do this." Ryou gasped, trying again. His back flamed in agony, but he continued to walk. "I-I can do this, Bakura." He glowed in pride. Bakura nodded, panting in agony.

"Good, Ryou." The yami sighed, feeling weak. "Now… You have to turn around, Ryou, or you're going to walk into a wall. You need to turn left, and we're going to get to the door. I've got my nametag, the pin end on that should be enough to pick the lock." Ryou smiled a little, despite himself. Bakura was an _excellent_ lock picker. "Okay?"

"Okay." Ryou gasped in agreement, shifting his weight, and starting to turn left. He suppressed a scream every time he moved his back, and if his tear ducts weren't melted shut, he would have been crying.

"That's it." Bakura said encouragingly as Ryou walked towards the door. "You're doing so well, Ryou. You're so brave…" The yami continued in this vein, until he reached the door. "That's a good boy. You're such a good boy, Ryou."

"I'm twenty-two." Ryou groaned. "And I'll be twenty-three, soon. Hardly a boy." Both of the males dared to let a glimmer of hope fill their hearts.

"Shh…" Bakura grabbed the doorknob without thinking. He howled, and dropped his hand, sucking his fingers. "Shit, that's hot!" He gasped. "The fire… It's really close. We have to be quick." Ryou was still, pressed into Bakura's side. He shook slightly, sniffing. Bakura grabbed the nametag, and unpinned it, leaning against Ryou. The whitenette buried his head in Bakura's shoulder as he heard the yami work his magic, managing to manipulate the lock into opening with just a thin piece of metal.

"Done it yet?" Ryou coughed, the smoke thickening. Bakura gritted his teeth, sweat trickling down his forehead.

"Almost…" He muttered… "Nearly there… I got it!" Bakura sighed in triumph as he turned the knob again, forgetting about the blistering pain in his euphoria. Both of the white-haired males coughed as Bakura pushed the door open, and heat rushed in their faces.

"Oh no." Ryou gasped. "What's happening?" Bakura swallowed.

"Ryou." Bakura stared into the hall, which was in flames. "It's worse than I thought. You're going to have to run, okay? I want you to be really strong, and just run as fast as you can. And you have to listen to what I say, okay?" Ryou nodded, his hand tightening around Bakura's, which was slung around his shoulders.

"Okay, Bakura." The yami nodded, and took a deep breath.

"Okay… run!" Bakura yelled, hopping on his right foot. Ryou gasped, and half-limped, half-ran with him down the hall. The smoke was terrible, thick and choking, and the heat was like an oven. There was an awful rushing and cracking in his ears. Although Ryou couldn't see them at all, he knew that the flames were very close to him.

"Keep going." Bakura gasped as he felt Ryou falter. He tugged the man on, looking from side to side. "Take a left, we can't go upstairs, we'll be trapped…" Ryou nodded, and swung around on his heels, and limping down the hallway. The rushing seemed a little quieter, and the heat had lessened.

"Is the fire gone?" Ryou asked weakly, panting in exertion. Bakura bit his lip, his crimson eyes darting around the school. The floors were tiled, and the walls a drab grey. He _thought_ he could feel fresh air, but that probably just his imagination…

"No." Bakura moaned. "But I think we're through the worst of it now. They obviously didn't expect us to go this far without dying… You can slow down a bit, Ryou, but don't stop, don't stop." Ryou nodded, panting and gasping. He slowed to a walk, and rested his head on Bakura's shoulder. "Hey! Keep moving, Ryou, or you won't have strength to walk again, and we will die. Got it?"

"Y-Ye-Yes." Ryou panted, his shoulders sagging he continued to limp forward doggedly, Bakura hanging off him, and hopping as fast as he could. "H-H-How far…"

"There's stars." Bakura groaned. "Okay, listen to me, and we'll do this… Take a little step, a little one, that's it, Ryou. Keep going. Hey, you're a pro at this! One more, and…. There you go!" Bakura sighed in relief as Ryou walked down the stairs blind. "And… Christ, we have an exit."

"YAY!" Ryou actually shouted, smiling weakly and quickening his pace. Bakura's eyes widened, and he hopped along beside Ryou as fast as he could, staring at the double doors, with the huge panes of glass that were an entrance to the school. Bakura looked harder at the door handle, and his heart sank.

"No." He moaned. "It's locked… _fuck!"_ He screamed, raising his eyes to the heavens. "It's chained shut, I can't break that without tools…" Ryou gasped, and buried his head in Bakura's shoulder. "Hey, hey, calm down. It's gonna be fine… The doors are practically made of glass, I'm sure we can break it…" Bakura looked around, and his eyes settled on a fire extinguisher, just a few feet from the door. "There we go. Okay, keep walking in a straight line, until I say stop." Ryou nodded, and obeyed. Bakura stared at the large doors. "Okay, good. Now stay."

"What?" Ryou gasped as Bakura removed his hands from the whitenette's shoulders. Bakura turned, and started to hop as quickly as he could over to the fire extinguisher, mindful of the raging fire upstairs. "Kura, where are you?" The male looked around desperately, despite the fact that he was blind. "Kura?"

"I'm here." Bakura said shortly, tugging at the red cylinder. He finally managed to yank it out of its cradle, and hopped back over to Ryou. "Now cover your eye- That's not gonna make a difference." Bakura mumbled. "Just… Cover your face, Okay?" Ryou was confused, but he obeyed, holding his hands over his face. His hands were warm, apart from those three fingers, which were ice cold.

Bakura licked his lips, and hefted the fire extinguisher in his hands. He swung it, not unlike a cricket bat- into the glass paneled door. Shards of glass flew into the air, and Bakura gasped as some sliced into his skin, but he forced the pain down, and aimed again. Ryou whimpered, covering his face as Bakura continued to smash the glass pane, until he had made a hole big enough for a human to cross through.

"Here." Bakura muttered, throwing the fire extinguisher to the floor. He hopped back over to Ryou, and grabbed his hand. Glass cut into his bare feet painfully, but Bakura couldn't stop. His right foot was extremely tired from all of the hopping, and he was wavering dangerously, but Bakura didn't dare stop. The yami gulped, and hopped to the door. "Just lift your feet up really high, okay?"

"Y-Yup." Ryou whispered, clinging tightly to Bakura's hand, like a lifeline. "I'm really scared…" Bakura sighed in sympathy.

"It's okay." He sighed, hopping. He bit his lip, and ducked his head. Bakura managed to hop over the door, but his left foot grazed one of the shards of glass, knocking his ankle. He howled in pain, and collapsed onto the concrete. Without meaning to, Bakura pulled Ryou down on top of the doorframe, which was stuck with jagged shards of glass.

Ryou screamed as he was brought down on the glass, his stomach over the door frame. Bakura gasped, staring in shock at his lover. _What have I done?_ Bakura scrambled on his rear towards Ryou, who was screaming, and struggling, although he couldn't move his torso. Bakura got up on his good knee, and placed his arms under Ryou. He yanked the whitenette off of the glass with all of the strength he could muster bridal style, and rolled him onto the concrete. The shard of glass Ryou fell on was at least three inches high, and dripping with blood. Bakura leaned over Ryou, meaning to have a look to see where the damage was, but before he could move, the whitenette started screaming again, his toes curling.

"Fuck!" Bakura grabbed Ryou's forearms, and lifted the whitenette up. He'd forgotten about Ryou's back… The whitenette gripped his stomach, howling in agony. "I'm sorry, Ryou, I'm so sorry! I knocked my ankle, and fell over… I never meant to…" Bakura was shaking as he held Ryou the best he could, without touching any of the whitenette's extensive wounds.

"Kura…" Ryou mumbled thickly. "'ts really bright…" Bakura blinked.

"What." He dared to whisper, his heart freezing in his chest.

"Bright…" Ryou moaned. "Turn'ff the lights…" Bakura shook his head, starting to cry.

"No, Ryou!" He yelled, shaking the whitenette. "Ryou, you stay with me, you hear? Don't you dare die on me now, not after all of this." He sobbed. "Okay… I'm going to get you farther away from the school, and then I'm gonna find help, and get an ambulance. You're not gonna die, Ryou, you hear me? I'm not gonna let you…" Bakura shakily clutched Ryou closer to him, trying to ignore his weak moans of pain. Bakura started to stand up. He was hop and get Ryou safely away from the fire and get help and save him! Bakura wasn't going to be a baby anymore. A few broken bones weren't gonna keep him down. Bakura took a first hop, and started to head towards the concrete stairs that led to the ground. He sighed, stared down at the first step, and bent his knee…

And misjudged it. Bakura's right ankle was twisted painfully as he landed on the step awkwardly, and Bakura collapsed. Ryou tumbled out of Bakura's arms and onto the concrete, and Bakura followed suite, grazing his head on a corner of a step. Both of the males tumbled down the steps like broken, bloodied dolls, unconscious.

They were in a tangled heap at the foot of the stairs. Ryou barely clung to life, his breathing shallow and laboured. He wasn't moving, and Bakura's eyes were closed. He was very still, a new wound bleeding on his head. Both of the males were out cold.

And the ancient school burned behind them.

* * *

Hehehe...

Okay. Yeah. I should tell you now that there's one more chapter. Hehehe... Which should be up in a few days. I want to have this done by the time I get back to school (Thursday. T.T)

Don't hate meh! -cries- Hate my muses. FALL OUT BOY INSPIRED ME FOR THIS! O.o; HATE THEM! XD

R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

Hehhehehehe... I know I said it would be the last chapter, but it's not... There's... Two? Mebbe after this. -dies-

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Ugh.

Bakura groaned as his mind was gently lifted from unconsciousness. His head felt thick, and fuzzy, and all of the pain in his body had been reduced to a dull ache. The yami groaned again, and slowly cracked his eyes open.

It was a moment before Bakura realized that there was a strange beeping in his ears. Exhausted, he turned his hear to one side, his crimson eyes foggy and half open. He was on a bed…

Bakura stared, his vision somewhat blurry. There was a green monitor in front of him, with a blinking bright green line. And… A person…

"What the fuck?" The yami was finally able to mumble. The person gasped, and stood up, hovering over him. Bakura felt a cool hand on his burning forehead, and concerned murmurs. "Where am I?" He groaned, his weight sinking into the mattress. He opened his eyes again, struggling to focus on the face that hovered over him. He blinked, and finally managed to see who was hovering over him. "Who are you?" He muttered.

"Oh dear…" It was a rather pretty nurse, biting her lip in worry. "D-Do you remember anything at all, sir?" Bakura sighed, slumping into the mattress again. His head hurt…

Wait. The school. It was burning… And Sadahiro was there. And his son, and…

_Ryou_.

Bakura sat straight up, earning a gasp from the nurse. He groaned, holding a hand to his head in dizziness. He pitched forward slightly, his hands shaking. The nurse gently took hold of his shoulders, and tried to get the yami to lie back down.

"Piss off!" Bakura growled, struggling weakly. His heart was thudding in fear. "Ryou… Where the fuck is he? Wh-What happened to him?" The nurse relaxed her hold, and looked down.

"Ryou… The other gentleman who was with you?" Bakura nodded, not liking the way that she was looking away from Bakura.

"Where is he?" Bakura panicked. "What happened to him? I-Is he…" The yami couldn't finish. The nurse bit her lip.

"He's still alive…" She sighed. Bakura blinked.

"Wait… What do you mean, still? H-He's not, he cant…" Bakura held his hands over his mouth, feeling tears sting the back of his eyes. For the first time, Bakura realized that there were five tubes going in his forearms. "O-Oh God…"

"He was in shock a long time before we were able to treat him." The nurse said gently. "We're doing everything we can, but I'm afraid that there's a very high chance that he won't survive… I'm so sorry." Bakura shook his head, his hands still held over his mouth. He started to cry, feeling as though his heart was breaking. Ryou couldn't die, he just couldn't! The yami's shoulders shook, and he sobbed weakly, exhausted.

"Th-There has to be something you can do." Bakura said thickly. "Y-You can't just let him die…" The nurse sighed, placing a hand on Bakura's shoulder.

"We're doing everything we can." She repeated. "We're not just letting him die. But the best we can really do is give him as much blood and antibiotics as possible, and make him comfortable…"

"No!" Bakura shook his head. "Y-You don't get it! He went through so much… I would have died if it wasn't for him… He can't die!" Bakura bowed his head, his fingers curling in his hair. "H-He can't…" The nurse was silent, staring down at her clipboard.

"Where is he?" Bakura asked a short while later. "I-I wanna see him, b-before…" he trailed off, swallowing a sob. The nurse sighed.

"Sir, You're terribly injured. You can't leave your bed-"

"I have to see him!" Bakura shouted, his eyes clouded with tears. "I don't give a fuck about how hurt I am, I-I have to see him…" He swallowed deeply, trying to force down the lump in his throat.

"I… I don't know." The nurse fretted. "I-I'll have to talk to one of the senior nurses, or a doctor. You shouldn't be moved Not only are you hooked up to five drips, Bakura, but your kneecap is shattered. It's very dangerous to move it right now-"

"I don't care!" Bakura clenched his hands into fists. "I just wanna see Ryou." He bit his lip. "Please…"

"I'll be right back." The nurse sighed, standing up, and turning. She closed the door behind her as she left the room, leaving Bakura alone. The yami sighed, and slumped against the pillows, closing his eyes. He felt like total shit, lying here on the bed. Since he was having high amounts of morphine pumped into his system, Bakura hardly felt any pain, more like a dull ache where he had been hurt, but he felt groggy, and sluggish. _Ugh. I'd rather be in pain than be on these damn drugs... I'll have to talk to them about this._

Bakura closed his eyes, trying hard not to cry. He was exhausted, felt like crap, and now he found out Ryou was dying. _Ryou._ He couldn't die… He'd been through so much, he just couldn't die… Bakura blinked, his dark eyelashes fluttering slightly as he stared up at the ceiling. _How could this happen to us... How could I be so stupid as to let my guard down and allow Ryou to be kidnapped! I thought Sadahiro wouldn't try anything funny. I thought... Ugh. I didn't think. This is all my fault..._

"Bakura?" The yami blinked, and propped himself up on his elbows, The doctor stood in the doorway, surveying Bakura over his glasses. "Hm…"

"Let me see Ryou." Bakura snarled, sitting up. "I have to see him. You don't understand… I-If he's really gonna die, then I have to see him… I have to fucking see him." The doctor arched an eyebrow, walking over to Bakura's bed. He stared down at the white-haired figure, looking deep in thought.

"He's certainly alert." He mused. "Nurse, I want you to locate a wheelchair with the correct leg attachment." The nirse blinked, and her eyes widened.

"Wh-What? S-Sir, He-"

"_Now._" The doctor glared at the woman, who 'eeped', and left the room. The doctor sighed, staring at Bakura's left leg.

"So I'm gonna see him then?" Bakura's heart rose, just a little. The doctor nodded, before eyeing the bags of fluid Bakura was hooked up to.

"I'm going to have to disconnect some of these for easier movement." He muttered. "Your blood levels are still very low, and you're in a lot of pain, so-"

"Take off the morphine." Bakura burst out. "It's making me feel like shit. I'll be fine without it." The doctor shook his head.

"Bakura, I don't think you realize-"

"Look, I can handle the pain, okay?" He growled. "What I can't handle is feeling like a fucking zombie. Can't you like, lower it or something?" The doctor sighed.

"You're increasingly alert, so you're not going to need the IV, and the antibiotics were due to be removed shortly anyway…" The doctor walked over to the sink, where a box of disposable rubber gloves was set against the wall. He pulled on a pair, and turned back to Bakura. "I'm going to need you to stretch out your forearms so we can remove the drips." Bakura nodded, and stretched his arms out across the bed, staring at the needles in his arm.

"How long will it take?" Bakura asked as the doctor started to switch off the drips that were to be removed.

"Not long." The doctor gently took one of Bakura's arms, and peeling back the surgical tape, started slowly extracting one of the needles from Bakura's arm. The yami blinked, staring down at his arms. The doctor left two needles in Bakura's arm, and started on the other arm. Bakura watched as two more needles were painstakingly removed, the tiny holes covered with a small plaster. "There."

"You left the morphine in." Bakura growled. "I _told_ you not to." The bridge of his nose creased in a snarl. "Take it out."

"No." The doctor countered. "You need that morphine in." Bakura shook his head.

"You listen to me!" He growled. "I don't! I'm fine without it, now take the damn thing out, or I'll-"

"If you want to see Ryou, you are going to listen to us and cooperate." The doctor said evenly. The pair were interrupted by the door opening.

"Doctor? I found a chair."

* * *

_Oh my God._

Bakura started to cry again when he saw Ryou. The whitenette was spread across the gurney carefully on his side, his head turned to one side. His hands were heavily bandaged, and his left arm was in a cast. The sheets were folded at his waist, and Ryou's back was bandaged thickly. Bakura stared at the bandages over Ryou's eyes, feeling sick.

The yami placed his hands on the bed, licking his lips. The room was silent, apart from the steady beep of machines that signified Ryou was still alive. Bakura's hands shook as he leaned over the bed, resting his chin on the mattress. Ryou was still, unmoving, and it made Bakura's heart break.

"He's breathing on his own." Bakura jumped at the voice behind him. "That's a good sign. If he can get through the night without needing ventilation, then he should be okay."

"Okay?" Bakura fought back tears. "_Look_ at him! He's…" The yami couldn't say it. He couldn't bear to look at Ryou's face. Every time he thought about what was under those bandages, he felt sick. "I'll stay with him." Bakura sighed. He gently extended a hand, stroking the side of Ryou's face. "Until he wakes up." The nurse sighed.

"Bakura, please, you need to get sleep yourself." She begged. "You need lots of rest." Bakura shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on Ryou.

"I gotta be here for him." The yami muttered. "Do you know how terrified he's going to be when he wakes up blind?" Bakura sighed, running his thumb over Ryou's lower lip. "I'm gonna be here, Ryou." He whispered, cupping the side of Ryou's face. "Okay? I'm gonna be here when you wake up. It's all gonna be okay."

"What's the chances of him waking up?" The nurse looked up from her clipboard. "They're not very good, are they?"

"Less than twenty-percent chance he'll make the night without needing a breathing tube." The doctor sighed. "But don't tell him. Just… give them this time."

"I'll check up every fifteen minutes." She muttered, making a note on her clipboard. The doctor nodded.

"I'm calling the detective now. He wanted to talk to them when they woke up." The nurse nodded.

"Who would do this?" She whispered, staring through the large glass window into the ward. "Who would be so cruel?"

"Apparently, the detective has a hunch. He won't tell me who though. And we're supposed to keep this very hush hush. We're to tell as little staff as possible." She blinked.

"Wow." She murmured. "Sounds very sinister… I hope the kid pulls through…" The doctor nodded.

"Yeah." He muttered. "Me too."

* * *

"There's a lot of things I never told you." Bakura muttered. He gave a long sigh, staring at the whitenette. "I… I was… I guess I was just afraid. I mean… I don't know. I've always had this image of being so tough and unemotional… And I know it's been seven years, but I never said… I never said that I was… Glad." Bakura murmured, keeping his eyes downcast. "I mean… For so, so long, I've held all of this hate and darkness inside of me. And everyone… They just hated me. But you never did, Ryou. You were angry at me lots, but you never hated me. And I'll always love you for that, no matter what ever happens." Bakura gulped, and rested his forehead on the mattress. He remained there for a long time. One hand was on Ryou's face, the other on the bed beside his head. Ryou was silent, deathly silent, and still.

"It's like…" Bakura whispered, lifted his head, letting out a long sigh. "There's been this big hole in my heart, after… That night. And it was fucking huge, Ryou. I just hurt so much. And I was so angry. And you came along, and I was angry at you to. I hated you. I swore at you and beat you, and treated you like crap. And… You stayed. You never left me, ever. And eventually, Ryou… You filled that hole. N-not completely, it's still there, but it's not big and gaping anymore. Y-You showed me what it was like to trust someone again, to… Love them. You gave me such a wonderful gift, and all of this time. I feel like I never repaid you…" Bakura stroked Ryou's hair, staring at his beautiful light. His leg was starting to hurt like hell now that the morphine was wearing off, but Bakura forced the pain down. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered right now. Ryou was all that mattered. Sweet, innocent, kind, beautiful Ryou, who had his whole life ahead of him.

"Y-You can't die." Bakura's voice cracked, and his eyes welled up with tears. "Y-You can't leave me, Ryou. I-I wont let you. I'll do anything you want, just please, please, pull through." He leaned forward, placing a kiss on Ryou's forehead. He drew back a little, and stared at the bandages around Ryou's eyes. "If you're ever gonna wake up again, the worlds gonna be dark for you." The yami sighed, tears splashing on Ryou's forehead. "But… You have to know. I'm always going to be here for you, Ryou. I don't care about you being blind. I don't care about everything that they've done to you. I mean, I _do, _but it doesn't make you any less attractive to me." Bakura leaned his forehead against Ryou's, feeling the saline water on his skin. "I'll always love you to pieces. Whether your alive or… Not." Bakura felt that lump rise in his throat, and tried to force it down, but to no avail.

"Bakura?" The nurse tentatively opened the door a moment later, to peer into the dim room. She sighed, and fully opened the door when she noticed Bakura slumped over the bed, crying. She sighed, and entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Oh dear…"

"I-I can't stop fucking crying!" Bakura moaned, lifting his head slightly, and burying his face in his hands. "I-It's so stupid…"

"Not it's not." The nurse gently sat down on one of the moulded plastic chairs, her clip board across her knees. "Bakura… You've been through physical and emotional hell these past twenty-four hours. It's okay to be feeling this way. In fact, it's good." Bakura snorted, and rubbed at his eyes.

"How." He muttered, staring at the white mattress through his slightly splayed fingers. "I'm such a baby…"

"No." She said softly. "We're all surprised that you didn't go into a trauma-induced shock, after what you've been put through. Instead, you're displaying a healthy range of emotions, and you're reacting well to the antibiotics. It's the best result we could have hoped for."

"And Ryou?" Bakura dared to whisper. "Wh-What about him? Y-You're telling me he's not gonna make it…" The nurse sighed.

"He might." She said softly. "There still is a pretty good chance that Ryou is going to survive, Bakura. We don't know yet. We're not going to know for a few more hours… I'm sorry, Bakura."

"Whatever." Bakura muttered, trying and failing to stop his shoulders from trembling. "Not like it matters… What kind of life is Ryou going to have? He can't see, he can't move his back, he can't use his left hand… Oh God I just feel so guilty." Bakura broke down into fresh sobs. "H-How can I let this happen to him? I-I just sat there and watched as they held him down and-And…"

"Who would want to do this to you?" She whispered, stricken. Bakura sniffed, and wiped at his nose. "Wh-Why? I-I've never ever even heard of anything like this." The yami let out a long, shuddering sigh, and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling.

"It was that sick _fuck_ Sadahiro." Bakura muttered, his teeth clenched. The nurse blinked.

"Wait. Wait… Sadahiro? The dude on the news? The person who was kidnapping those young boys and selling them?" Bakura nodded.

"The one and the same." He whispered, keeping his eyes locked on the unconscious whitenette.

"But… What did he want from you?"

"Oh, he didn't want anything from me." Bakura muttered. "He wanted Ryou. Think about it. Think about what he looks –looked- like. He-He was only fifteen at the time, he really didn't know any better. Sadahiro lured Ryou into working for him, by offering big money. I tried to take him away, and got shot."

"That's what the bullet scar on your stomach was from." Bakura gave her an odd look.

"Yeah… Anyway, long story short, Ryou was kidnapped, I rescued him, and Sadahiro got arrested. Seven years later, he breaks out, and drives us off to God-knows-where to torture us to death in some sick revenge plan." Bakura sighed, and drooped his head into his hands. "I don't want to talk about it…"

"You probably shouldn't." The nurse agreed. "N-Not to me, anyway. I'm really sorry about Ryou, Bakura." She stood up, placing a hand on Bakura's shoulder. "But you have to hope that he's going to be okay." She glanced down to her clipboard. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Bakura whispered, his eyes downcast. He was leaning forward, resting his forehead on his clasped hands. His leg was hurting worse than ever, and it felt like his heart was being ripped in two. He knew that these could very well be the last hours he ever spent with Ryou. Bakura bit his lip, and straightened his back. He placed two hands on the edge of the bed, and gritting his teeth, started to pull himself up onto the edge of the bed.

It _hurt!_ Bakura gasped, and bit on his lip harder to keep from screaming. He leaned against the mattress, gasping. It was a moment before he tried again, straining himself to get his upper half onto the bed. Finally, Bakura was able to lift his exhausted frame out of the chair, and onto the bed. He gasped as he swung his good leg up onto the bed, rolling onto his back. Bakura suppressed a scream of pain as he scooted up the bed, until his head was resting on the pillows beside Ryou. He dragged his bag of blood, hooked to the little trolley, closer to him, and sat up. Bakura took a deep breath, and bent down, slowly starting to lift up his broken leg. Bakura bit back a sob of agony, his hands shaking, and continued to lift it up, until finally, it was on the bed. He let out a long sigh, and turned his head slightly to look at Ryou.

"Hey, sweetie." He murmured gently, his voice cracking. The yami sighed, exhausted. Weakly, he linked an arm under Ryou, and gently pulled the light into him. The younger whitenette was rolled onto Bakura's chest, his face in the crook of his neck. Careful not to disturb any of the wires, or to touch his sensitive back, Bakura wrapped his arms around Ryou's slim frame. He wore no shirt- instead, bandages covered his extensive wounds, almost like clothing. Bakura rested his chin on Ryou's head, and closed his eyes. "I love you so much." He whispered softly, tightening his hold on the whitenette, just a little. "You have to know that." Bakura sighed, going lax into the mattress. He was so exhausted and worn out…

The yami was asleep by the time the nurse had looked back into the room.

* * *

Waaahh sadness. ToT Oh well. Hehehe

R&R!


	10. Chapter 10

Hahaha... Sorry it's so late. Another one of them spurs came in handy.

Now, seeing as I have school in like, six hours, I better go to bed. n.n;;

* * *

"Oh dear."

The nurse sighed as she closed the door behind her, staring at the heartbreaking scene. Bakura was still on the bed, in a deep, exhausted sleep, Ryou in his arms. She bit her lip as she crossed the room, gently leaning down, and shaking the yami's shoulder. Bakura gasped, his eyes snapping open. He looked around the room for a moment, before his gaze settled on the nurse.

"Oh." Bakura murmured, slumping into the pillow. He instinctively clutched the whitenette close to him, burying his nose in Ryou's silky hair. His leg was hurting more than ever, but he forced it down. "'S only you…" He sighed, blinking furiously. "What's th' time?"

"Almost five." The nurse said gently. "Has Ryou made any movement at all?" Bakura shook his head weakly, staring down at the limp teenager. She sighed.

"He's gonna die." Bakura whispered heartbrokenly, resting his forehead against Ryou's fluffy white head. "Ryou's gonna die… Isn't he?" He pressed his lips together, his shoulders shaking. He was beyond caring about what people thought, about how weak he looked. Ryou was dying. It was like a boulder of ice in Bakura's stomach. The person who dragged him out of his funk, who loved him and cared about him…

"We're not so sure yet." The nurse said gently. "Now… I need to get Ryou lying down flat so I can check his vital signs." Bakura shook his head, clutching the trembling frame closer to him.

"No." He whispered. "Leave him alone…" Ryou was still in his arms. "Don't touch him." Bakura was shaking, one hand cupping the back of Ryou's head, the other looped around his slim waist, trying not to touch his back.

"Bakura, please."

"No!" Bakura was sobbing, clinging tightly to Ryou. "Leave him alone. Just… Just…" The nurse took a step back, letting out a long sigh. Bakura heard her footsteps as she walked out of the room, clacking down the hallway. He let out a long sigh, gently cradling Ryou against his chest. He'd snapped. "C-Can't they just leave me in peace to have these last few minutes with you?" Bakura placed a quick, fleeting kiss on Ryou's forehead. "Y-You have to pull through." He whispered. "Because I'm going to help you get better. I'm going to take you home and we're going to put all of this behind us. I know it took you ages to get better last time, but this is different, I swear." The yami sniffed, gently rocking the teen from side to side.

"Bakura." He froze at the doctor's voice, tightening his hold on Ryou. "Look… There's still a somewhat decent chance Ryou is going to survive… We need you to let go of him so we can make sure… And he needs to remain as stationary as possible."

"No." Bakura muttered. "You can't…" The doctor sighed, jerking his head towards Bakura. The yami's eyes widened as the male orderlies entered the room, strong and burly. "No…" He repeated.

"Restrain him." Bakura's eyes widened as a set of strong hands grabbed each arm, forcing his limbs to his sides.

"Fuck off!" Bakura yelped, struggling as hard as he could. "I mean it, let me go, or…" He watched as the doctor extracted the needle from his pocket. "No!" He gasped. "You can't…"

"It's just a sedative." The doctor said calmly, rolling up the sleeve of Bakura's hospital gown until it was at his shoulder. "It's only going to be a tiny prick, and then you'll go right to sleep." Bakura shook his head madly, hissing as the tiny piece of metal pierced his skin. He could only watch in horror as the vial was emptied into his veins.

Almost immediately, the effects of the drug started taking hold. Bakura closed his eyes as he started feeling dizzy, his tense muscles going lax. He was so sleepy, and the mattress of so comfortable… Maybe he should just shut his eyes for a short moment…

The doctor and the orderlies watched as Bakura passed out, slumping into the mattress with a long moan.

* * *

Bakura groaned as the bright light glared through his closed eyelids, staining them red. He rolled his head over to one side, opening his eyes open a crack. He felt like crap. His left leg throbbed in a dull ache, and all over, he felt weak… The sedative may have worn off, but Bakura was hooked up to huge amounts of morphine, dulling his pain, and his wits.

_Ryou._

Bakura's eyes snapped open, clenching his hands into the sheets. His heart skipped a beat, before sinking in deep guilt. With a low moan, the yami lifted his head, looking around him. He spread out carefully in a gurney, his left leg in a traction. Bakura blinked at the thick cast that was from his thigh to his skin, but ignored it, struggling to prop himself up on his elbows. When Bakura had finally accomplished this task, he looked over to his left. It was nothing but a smooth, blank wall, close to him. There were now only three bags hooked into his arms, but, despite the grogginess, Bakura had to admit he felt a _lot_ better.

Bakura turned his head to look to his right, expecting to see another blank grey wall. What he really saw, however, made his heart stop.

There was a hospital bed, right next to him. The gurney was so close to him. If he reached out far enough, Bakura's fingers would be able to touch the edge of the other bed. The figure was hooked up to various bags and machines, and his upper half was almost covered in bandages. He was so unrecognizable, it took a moment for Bakura to click.

"Ryou." Bakura gasped in shock, his eyes wide. "O-Oh God…" He stared at Ryou, who's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. It took Bakura another moment to realize that it the bright light that filtered through the small window was sunlight. "Oh…" Bakura stared at the small window between the two beds, his heart lifting. It must be mid morning… The yami gasped as he managed to force himself into a sitting position. He leaned over the side of the bed, keeping one hand on the metal frame to brace himself. Bakura extended his free arm, leaning over a little more. He managed to grab Ryou's shoulder, and started to shake the teen.

"Ryou…" He breathed his eyes filling with tears. "Ryou… You're alive. Y-You're alive…" Bakura sniffed. He shook the teenager still, biting on his lip hard. "Oh God…" His heart swelled in joy. His smile stretched almost from ear to ear. He continued shaking Ryou's shoulder.

It was the soft knocking on the door that broke Bakura's concentration. The yami gasped, and looked up as the door opened, a tall nurse standing on a threshold.

"O-Oh!" She gasped, seeing Bakura conscious. "Oh, my." The woman looked down at her clipboard, before walking between the two beds.

"Ryou." Bakura looked up desperately to the nurse. "What's going on? How is he?" The nurse sighed. "Is he okay?"

"Depends by what you mean by okay." She cast a glance over to Ryou's flicking, beeping monitors. "If you means he's going to live, then yes. He hasn't regained consciousness, but we're confident he's going to live."

"Yes!" Bakura grinned, and let out a long sigh of relief. The nurse smiled weakly, and then bit her lip.

"But…"

"But what?" Bakura panicked. "H-He's going to live, isn't that all that matters? You said he was going to live!" The yami's hands clenched into fists as he sat up straight.

"He is!" The nurse promised. "But… his quality of life is going to be greatly compromised, you have to understand…" Bakura frowned.

"What… I don't know what you mean…" Although he didn't, the yami was sure it wasn't good- His heart thumping in his chest was definitely not a good sign.

"His eyes…" The nurse slumped her shoulders. "Bakura, Ryou's eyes were horribly damaged by the battery acid. The doctors tried everything they could, but I'm sorry, there wasn't anything they could do…"

"What?" Bakura gasped, his voice hoarse. "Y-You mean… He-he can't…"

"We had to surgically remove the remains of his eyes." She said gently. "When he heals a little more, Ryou can have some eyelids remade from donor skin, but his eyes…"

"No."

"I'm so sorry, but Ryou's never going to be able to see again."

"_No."_ Bakura shook his head from side to side, holding a hand over his mouth. "Y-You… You can't… Please… Ryou… You have to do something!" He burst out, tears welling in his eyes. "Y-You're doctors, aren't you? I thought you could cure anything!" The nurse let out a long, long sigh, and sat on the edge of the bed. Bakura buried his head in his hands, and sobbed. "'s not fair. Ryou never deserved this…"

"You're very tired." The woman stood back up, placing her hands on Bakura's shoulders, gently but firmly making Bakura lie back down on the bed. "You need lots of sleep and recovery…" Bakura groaned, shaking his head. He looked over to Ryou, biting his lip.

"No." Bakura whispered. "Ryou… Ryou… When's he gonna wake up? I need to see him…" The nurse sighed. "Fuck." Bakura swore, and leaned back on the cushions. "Oh fuck. I am going to kill that bitch. I am going to rip his fucking lungs out and play 'em like a set of bloody bagpipes." The nurses eyes widened, and she took a step back.

"Oh-Kay…" She looked down at her watch. "Well… I have to go, anyways, The detective wanted to speak with you and Ryou when you wake up… He'll be in shortly." Bakura smirked as she almost ran out, and relaxed against the pillows.

"Heh. Bakura man, you still got it." Bakura smiled smugly, stretching and yawning. The yami let out a long sigh, closing his eyes. He always liked scaring stupid mortals…

Bakura froze when he heard soft moaning beside him. He sat up with a jolt, wincing as his tender stomach was moved, and then looked over to the bed beside him. Ryou moaned again, shifting in the bed. He whimpered gently. Bakura's heart soared.

"Ryou," he gasped, reaching out and grasping the metal frame of Ryou's bed. He dragged the bed closer to him, but not to far away that the tubes were pulled out of his arm. Bakura was too afraid to move the traction that kept his left leg suspended in mid-air. "Oh God… Ryou." He gently cupped the side of Ryou's face, the male's bed just a few inches from his. The whitenette groaned softly, lolling his head to one side. "Oh God…" Bakura repeated, leaning out of bed. He managed to press his head against Ryou's lips in a soft, gentle kiss, just for a moment.

"K-Kura?" Ryou finally managed to breathe, his voice shaking. Bakura felt like crying all over again as he stared at Ryou, carefully laid down on his stomach, bandaged so thickly… "My back hurts…" The yami bit his lip, and extended a shaking hand. He started combing Ryou's long white hair with his fingers, while he started talking to Ryou in the softest, calmest voice he could muster.

"Ryou… You have to remain calm, okay?" He said gently. "I know you're scared an in pain, but you don't have to be scared anymore, you understand?" Ryou whimpered softly, and Bakura sensed the fear radiating off the teen.

"K-Kanaye…"

"Ryou." Bakura repeated firmly. "Listen to me. You're in the hospital, okay? And I'm here, and they're gonna try and make you better. Kanaye and Sadahiro are never going to touch you again." He continued stroking Ryou's long white hair.

If Ryou's tear ducts hadn't been melted by acid, and then surgically removed, he would have cried. Instead, he shook silently. His right hand, however, his 'good' hand, slid under his chest, despite the discomfort, and then up the pillow, until he found Bakura's hand. The yami froze, staring at Ryou, who clung to his hand like a lifeline.

"K-Kura…" He whispered weakly, trying not to move. He was disorientated, scared, and groggy… "D-Don't leave…"

"Hey." Bakura whispered, tightening his hold on Ryou's hand. "I'm not going to leave you, Ryou. I'm going to stay right here. I'm going to be at your side forever." He leaned over again, kissing Ryou's forehead. The mans' shaking decreased, just a little bit, and he relaxed slightly.

"Tired…" Ryou groaned weakly, still clinging to Bakura's hand. "Hurts…"

"I know…" Bakura whispered. "I… I don't know what time it is, or even what day it is… But that doesn't matter." He breathed. "Because we're here. We're safe. And even better, we're together. Nothing's gonna tear us apart Ryou, you hear?" Bakura clenched tightly onto Ryou's hand, and the gentler whitenette nodded, still clinging to Bakura.

"Hello?" Bakura gasped, and looked up as a tall, thin man entered the room. "Shit… who the hell are you?" He tightened his hold on Ryou's hand instinctively.

"What is it?" Ryou murmured softly, weakly.

"I don't know…" Bakura muttered. "Some random in a suit… Who are you?" He repeated. The tall man smiled, and dragged a moulded plastic chair from the corner of the room. He also took the small table on wheels that was supposed to go over the bed, and lifted his black briefcase onto it. Bakura watched in odd fascination as he extracted a notebook, a manila folder, a pen, and a tape recorder.

"My name is Detective Kenta Nakamura." He said softly, setting down his suitcase. Bakura sat up, holding Ryou's hand. "I've been assigned to investigate your attempted murder."

"You mean Sadahiro." The yami muttered, casting a glance over to Ryou. He nodded.

"Yes… You claim this to be the work of Sadahiro Makoto-"

"I don't _claim_," Bakura spat. "I know. I know him when I see him, and I know that he-"

"Let me finish." Nakamura held up a hand. "I never for a moment said that Sadahiro was not responsible for this. I only want details." Bakura frowned.

"So do I." He said. "I'll tell you what you want, as soon as you tell me what I want to know." The detective nodded simply. "Okay. What happened? How the hell did we end up here? And where were we?"

"You are obviously in a hospital…" Nakamura frowned. "We found you two about three days ago, by a couple who were passing by on a road a few miles away from the town. They saw the school on fire, and decided to investigate. Originally, the town had been fenced on, but something had broken it town."_ Sadahiro. _"They rang the fire department, but as soon as they saw you and Ryou, they rang for an ambulance. You were both very lucky that one of them was a doctor, or else you wouldn't be here right now." Bakura frowned.

"So…" He muttered, staring at the floor. "Why was the town fenced in? And why was it so abandoned? It was like a ghost town."

"You mean… You don't know?" Bakura tilted his head to one side, noticing the look on the detectives face.

"Huh? Know what?" He blinked. The detective sighed.

"Well, you probably would have only been a kid when it happened… Bakura, there used to be a power plant on the outskirts of the town. It was only small, it was experimental, more than anything. Everything was fine for the first ten years or so… But then there was an accident." Bakura frowned, still confused. Ryou listened silently, still grasping Bakura's hand tightly.

"Accident?" The detective nodded.

"Yes. There was a meltdown. Hardly anyone was killed, and there was minimal damage, but the radioactivity was huge. Everyone had to be evacuated, and some houses were moved. Most had to be left behind, though. They cordoned off the area, and no one ever went there…"

"Perfect place to commit a murder." Bakura muttered, clenching his hands into fists. Nakamura nodded, letting out a long sigh. Bakura rubbed his eyes with his free hand, and looked down. "All right…" He sighed a few minutes later. "What is it that you wanted to know?"

"Well…" Nakamura pressed play on the recorder. "It's simple, Bakura. I want you and Ryou to give me a full account of everything that happened to you two at the hands of Sadahiro, including the incident seven years ago." Bakura paled.

"Do… Do we have to?" Bakura looked down at Ryou, who tensed. "I… I mean, I don't mind that much, but Ryou… He's shaken up enough as it is, do we have to force him to relieve it again?" Nakamura sighed.

"Bakura… We need an account from you two as evidence. You and Ryou are witnesses, as well as victims. The only witnesses. We have to have an account from you. We can stop at any time you like, Bakura. And Ryou too. You don't have to feel pressured." Bakura looked down, silent. He didn't speak for about five minutes. He just sat there. Ryou was clinging to Bakura's hand, silent. He trusted Bakura. Although the thought of reliving it all, of recounting every horrible second in that hell made him want to curl up and die, Ryou would if Bakura wanted him to.

"Okay…" Bakura finally sighed grudgingly. "I guess I did agree to it anyway. I suppose that… That it all _really_ started seven… almost eight years ago. It's all Ryou's Dad's fault, really, he was the one that told Ryou he needed a job…"

* * *

And there ye go. Okay. Next chapter. The last one. I promise it is...

I hope none of that was too confusing... I tried to make it as clear as possible..

R&R!


	11. Chapter 11

-sigh- This was the last chapter. Really. But then it got so long...

Really. I'll have the last LAST one up tomorrow. hopefully. Depends on the reviews I get XD

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

"It sounds like you two have been through a lot." The detective muttered gently, before glancing at his watch. The interview had taken over an hour, and had reduced Bakura to tears and caused Ryou to fall completely silent, retreated into himself. "I'm amazed the pair of you are alive after that." Bakura shrugged, and wiped at his eyes.

"Ugh. I have cried to fucking _much_ today, it isn't funny." Bakura sniffed, rubbing at his nose. "This is bullshit." Ryou lay beside him, curled up and shaking. "Hey Ryou, you okay?" He blinked, staring at the whitenette. "Oh. _Great,_ Nakamura. Really."

"Ryou was given the opportunity to stop at any time, Bakura." The yami growled, shooting daggers at the detective.

"He only _just_ wakes up after being horrible tortured and you start asking him to relieve it?" Bakura was clearly angry. "I thought you guys were _smart_…" Nakamura only sighed, and looked down at his pad of paper.

"We're getting off track. What happened after you managed to break out of the office?" Bakura sighed, and slumped against the pillows, closing his eyes.

"We ran like hell. Well… I couldn't run, but Ryou helped me. He was so brave… The place was burning like hell around us, but he kept going. He didn't wanna die either. We managed to get to the main entrance, but it was locked, so we had to bash it open with a fire hydrant." Bakura let out a long, low sigh. "Jumped over it, and landed on my bad leg, and Ryou was holding on to me…" Bakura winced. "He fell right on the windowsill, and the glass cut into his stomach." Nakamura made a face. "Yeah… I am so sorry about that, Ryou." He squeezed the whitenette's hand.

"And then what happened after you left the school? You were found at the bottom of the steps…"

"I was carrying Ryou and I fell." Bakura sighed. "Like a ton of fucking bricks. I passed out, and the next thing I know, I woke up here." The yami relaxed against the pillows, and glared at the traction. "Fucking thing." He muttered. "God, this sucks… When can we go home?" He was met with silence. Bakura opened his eyes, and stared at Nakamura, who looked nothing short of shifty. "We… Are going home, aren't we?"

"Bakura." The detective sighed. "We've got the authorities all over Japan searching for Sadahiro and the other two, but it's been almost two days, Bakura. He could be on the other side of the world by now, we don't know. He thinks that Ryou and you are dead, and he has to keep thinking that, or else he will come for you again, Bakura. And what would happen then?" Bakura visible shivered at the thought. "Our only option is to make out that you and Ryou are dead."

"How are you going to do that?" The yami asked, sitting up a little. "I don't get it…"

"I'll have to e-mail the Prime Minister, and see if we can fabricate a news report and print out some death certificates-"

"Wait." Bakura's mouth fell open. "The Prime Minister? You can't be serious… He's in on this? On us?"

"Sadahiro is an extremely dangerous criminal. He's kidnapped over fifty young boys, all Japanese citizens. Of course the Prime Minister was going to be involved. It will probably be a representative of the government making all of the decisions though, not the Prime Minister himself. He'll have to be the one to finalize everything, though." Bakura stared into space, drumming his fingers against the sheet.

"So… Ryou and I are going to be legally dead?"

"Not you." Nakamura murmured. "Oddly enough, we found no reports on you at all. Were you ever registered as a child?" The yami shook his head, frowning. "Huh. Well, that's a convenience, then. You were never born, you'll never die."

"So then I never existed." He muttered, the bridge of his nose wrinkling slightly in a snarl. That was a definite downer, to say the least.

"You do exist." Nakamura said gently. "But Bakura no-last-name doesn't. You're going to get a brand new name, a brand new past, a new home-"

"I don't _want_ a new home." Bakura said shortly. "I want to go back to _our_ home." Nakamura sighed.

"Bakura, you can live anywhere you want in the world. Europe, Africa, America… They're all huge places, and with new names, Sadahiro will never find you. You're going to be safe." Bakura shook his head slowly.

"I wanna go home, he repeated, sounding somewhat like a child. "I don't care about living anywhere else… You don't understand…"

"Understand what?" Nakamura frowned, scratching away at the pad of paper. "Is this about you not being registered?" Bakura raised his eyes heavenward. He usually kept those details to himself, but what the fuck…

"Before I met Ryou, I never really had a home." Bakura murmured. "I… I was born in Egypt, but that was in a time and place where there was no registration. I kind of floated around, I never really had a place to go, until I found Ryou. I know I was horrible to him at first, but after Sadahiro, it changed, and over these years…" Bakura bit on his lip, and bowed his head. "I have a home with him, and I love him… I don't wanna change that."

"It wont." Nakamura said gently. "You'll be set up in a nice place somewhere, have a steady allowance until you're fit to work… Bakura, you have to accept that you're going to have to leave the country." Bakura closed his eyes. "Do you speak any languages other than Japanese?" The yami sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. English and Egyptian." Nakamura nodded.

"Okay… English… And Arabic-"

"Not Arabic, you idiot. Egyptian." The detective frowned slightly, and scribbled on the pad.

"But the original Egyptian language hasn't been spoken for hundreds of years…"

"I know." Bakura lifted his head, locking eyes with the detective. Nakamura blinked.

"Who are you…"

"And Ryou knows English, Egyptian (He learned that off me) and a bit of French." Bakura overran the detective quickly, twisting his hands together. Nakamura's eyebrows furrowed in a deeper frown.

"Yes… Ryou was born in England, he even has his accent…" Nakamura looked thoughtful. "How would Ryou like to live there again?" Bakura bit his lip, and looked over at Ryou, who was curled up underneath the blankets.

"He would love it."

* * *

"_Ryou..."_

_The whitenette gasped as the cool, oily voice was whispered in his ear. He whimpered, going still._

"_Ryou, Ryou Ryou. You thought that you could run away from me? I want you dead, Ryou. I need you dead." Ryou moaned, trying to move._

"_K-K-Kanaye..."_ _Ryou whimpered, burying his head into the pillow. He felt cold, bony fingers brush at the soft, pale strands of hair on his neck, felt Kanaye lean over and breathe just slightly in his ear..._

"_Think of it, Ryou. We're in a hospital. Think of the drills, the scalpels, the needles... We're going to have **so** much fun." Ryou whimpered, shaking like a leaf._

"_No." He moaned. His breath shook in his throat, and he tried so hard to move. His limbs, however, felt so heavy. He couldn't move... He was frozen in total terror as Kanaye continued to breathe in his ear._

"_Well, look at this, Ryou." He smiled, his free arm going to the bedside table. "Someone left their needle out. When did you get an injection?"_

"_No." Ryou whimpered, trying his hardest to struggle. "P-P-Please..." He heard Kanaye chuckle in his ear. _

"_Stop begging." He muttered savagely, before grabbing Ryou's 'good' hand. The teenager gasped, in complete darkness. It wasn't until Kanaye had separated his middle finger from the rest, that Ryou realized what the man was going to do. The teenager struggled, starting to cry._

"_Please... Kanaye, don't do it." Ryou sobbed as he felt the very tip of the needle probe in between his nail and the very soft skin underneath-_

"_NO!"_

Bakura, who was watching TV in the bed next to him, gasped, and looked from the soap opera over to Ryou, who was thrashing wildly in his bed. One hand groped for the red alarm button at his bedside as he leaned over to Ryou.

"Ryou!" He yelled, shaking the whitenette as hard as he could. Ryou was screaming and sobbing in his sleep, obviously having a horrible nightmare. "Ryou, wake up!" He continued to try waking Ryou with his shakes, but it wasn't working. The yami let out a long moan, and, hating himself for it, hit Ryou hard across the face.

Ryou awoke with a gasp. He lay lax on the bed, still for a long moment. Bakura watched, his heart aching as Ryou started to cry.

"Hey…" Bakura tried to take the teenager into his arms as he sobbed, shaking like a leaf. Ryou sobbed and sobbed weakly, his heart thudding in fear. The yami could only sit there, trying his hardest to comfort Ryou, waiting for the damn hospital staff to come in and do_ something._

* * *

"Hey doc." Bakura leaned against the pillows, half-closing his eyes. Ryou was sleeping beside the yami, but his arm was outstretched, locked with Bakura's. The yami shifted his gaze over from the day-time television, staring at the doctor. "What's the verdict on my knee? You got the X-Rays?"

"Yes." He sighed, brandishing the large white envelope. "And our orthopedic surgeon has had a look as well.."

"Is it healing?" Bakura sighed, staring at the stupid traction. The doctor sighed, and started pulling the X-Rays out of the envelope.

"Bakura… Sadahiro shattered your patella. It was in over a hundred pieces. We're tried our hardest, but-"

"But what?" Bakura panicked. "I-I'll still be able to walk, wont I?" The doctor paused, before holding the X-ray up to the light of the flourescents, showing Bakura where to look.

"See, here… That's your femur, that's fine, and so is your tibia. They're perfect. But if you look at the patella, it's hugely disjointed. Some fragments are even embedded in your infra pallelar. We're going to have to perform surgery again, to put it back together, and it may have to be wired together, but that's an extreme…"

"How long?" Bakura asked, cutting right to the point. "So, you're saying it's definitely going to heal?" He thought about Sadahiro's limp. The man nodded, sliding the sheets back into the envelope. "Great!" The yami perked up. "How long before I can walk on it? Three weeks? A month?" Bakura hated the thought of being cooped up in bed for that long.

The doctor actually laughed. He leaned over as he chuckled, his hands on his knees. Bakura watched, his heart sinking as he finally straightened himself, wiping at his eyes.

"Oh, my boy, good heavens no. Bakura, you wont be able to walk on it for nine months, at the very least." Bakura froze, his mouth falling open. _No._ "In fact, a full year would be the most realistic recovery time." The yami shook his head slowly, a rock forming in his stomach.

"No…" He whispered, shaking his head. He looked over at Ryou, who was sleeping soundly –he slept all night, and almost all day, it scared Bakura a little- and back over to the doctor. "No!" He repeated, clenching his hands into fists. "Don't you fucking say that to me-"

"Woa!" The doctors eyes widened as he held up one hand. "Bakura, hear me out. Just because you can't walk on it, it doesn't make you confined to your bed, not at all." Bakura tilted his head to one side, confused. "There's wheelchairs… And crutches, of course."

"Crutches?" Bakura echoed faintly. "Those… Those weird sticky things you lean on? Do I have to? Can't I just walk…"

"Not if you want to shatter it all over again." The doctor looked over his glasses. "Bed, Bakura. Or crutches." The yami groaned, and leaned into the pillows again.

"No other option?" The doctor shook his head. Bakura swore, and closed his eyes.

"I am going to fucking _kill_ him."

* * *

It was very late at night.

Bakura sighed, and rolled over a little in the bed. He had had his surgery two days ago, and the grogginess was _finally_ starting to wear off. Apparently, the surgery had taken almost seven hours, and Bakura was going to have a _lovely_ long scar just underneath his kneecap as a result. The day before, Bakura already tried to use the crutches, and failed.

_I can't believe Sadahiro could do this to us. I feel really sorry for anyone who pisses him off-_

Bakura sat straight up, his heart stopping in his chest.

"_And don't for a second think your Egyptian friends are safe, either..."_

_Malik and Marik._ Bakura held a hand over his mouth. He was kicking himself for not thinking about them sooner. Sadahiro wanted to kill them. And he would. He would hurt them like he hurt Ryou, and Bakura. The yami closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"No." He whispered into the night. "What if I'm too late? What if they're already dead…" _I have to warn them. I have to at least see if they're okay._ Malik and Marik had moved back to Egypt years ago, and Bakura had their number memorized...

The yami turned, and looked at the crutches resting against his bed. He had to. The pair had, however, been strictly told that they were to tell _no one _that they were alive. Bakura didn't care, although he would miss his work mates a little, but poor Ryou was heartbroken.

His father thought he was dead.

Bakura shook his head, and let out a long sigh. He wanted to move, but his leg was stuck in the _damn_ traction. He leaned forward, and started yanking at his leg, trying to get it out of the sling. It took a bit of effort, but finally, the yami was able to drag it out of the traction, despite the thick cast it was stuck in. Bakura dragged his leg so it hung over the side of the bed with the other, and reached for his crutches. He gritted his teeth together as he held on to them the way he was instructed, and placed them on the floor. Bakura leaned forward, leaning heavily on his good leg. Thankfully, the yami wasn't hooked up to anything anymore, so he was able to walk, or hobble, right out of the room.

"Fuck." Bakura hissed, leaning on his right leg and pressing the crutches into the floor, like he'd been shown. He practically hobbled at a snails pace across the room, sticking his head out the door. No one was around. Bakura gritted his teeth, and started to walk down the hall, searching for a payphone. _There should be one around here somewhere_… He leaned heavily on the crutches, occasionally closing his eyes. It hurt…

Finally, Bakura managed to haul himself down to a pay phone. He leaned against the wall, panting from the effort. His upper arms hurt like hell, and his bad leg ached. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling slightly dizzy. After taking a moment to recollect himself, Bakura let out a long breath of air, and straightened back up. He hobbled the last foot to the phone, and lifted the receiver to his ear. He started to push in Malik's number, when a cool female voice made him stop.

"You are making a call outside the toll-free zone. Please deposit the required change needed to call the area you desire to contact."

_Shit._

Bakura groaned, and looked down at himself. He was only wearing a pair of cotton shorts, and a light blue button-down shirt- The hospital pajamas. _No money on me... Fuck_. The yami bit his lip, looking around the hall. There was no one around, but a nurse, who was walking towards him. In fact, she was walking very fast… Was she running? The yami's eyes widened.

"Hey!" She cried out, slowing to a halt in front of the yami. "You! What on _earth_ are you doing out of bed at this hour? And in crutches? You get right back into bed right now-"

"I can't!" Bakura repeated, clutching the receiver tightly. "I-I have to call…"

"What on earth?" The yami closed his eyes and swore as the doctor turned into the hallway, and froze. "Bakura, you _better_ not be trying to call anyone-"

"I have to!" Bakura shot back, digging his nails into the black plastic. "Please, Malik…"

"You are under strict _orders_ to not communicate with anyone out of this hospital, Bakura. It's a life-or-death situation-"

"Shut up!" Bakura screamed, seeing red. The doctor froze, and the nurse was wide-eyed. "You listen to me! This _is _a matter of life and death, too! Marik and Malik are in trouble, because Sadahiro wanted them too! He's had seven years to track them down, he must know where they live now! He-He's going to kill them. Sadahiro's going to kill them…" Bakura closed his eyes, still gripping the receiver like a lifeline. "He can't… They're my…

My friends."

* * *

Ugh... I'll update tomorrow, really (About 2500 words of it ish already written hehe) But like I said, depends on my reviews.

Bwaha.


	12. Chapter 12

WOOHT! IT'S ALL DONE!! BWAHAHAHA! NO MORE! NO MORE!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, scratch that damnit, I own Sadahiro, Nakamura, Kanaye, Kiyoshi, Mamoru... And any other randoms ;;;

And... ONWARDS with the final chapter!

* * *

"Bakura."

The yami sighed, holding a hand over his eyes. He felt sick. It took three orderlies to drag him back onto his bed, and Bakura had to be heavily sedated before he injured himself. Now the sedatives were wearing off, however, he just felt sick.

"Piss off." He mumbled, turning his head away from the door. Nakamura let out a long sigh, taking a seat on one of the plastic chairs anyway.

"Fine." He muttered, opening his briefcase. "I suppose you don't want to be updated on what's happening?" Bakura blinked.

"What's happening?" The yami asked. "To us? When the fuck are we getting out of here? And… Moving?" Ryou shuffled slightly in the bed next to Bakura, awake. "Morning, Ryou." The yami added tenderly. Ryou smiled slightly, stretching out his hand. Bakura took it, gently squeezing his fingers.

"Did you two still want to live in England?" Nakamura asked, looking down at his papers. Bakura nodded, and looked over at Ryou.

"I remember…" He sighed. "We played in the hay all the time, and when it was spring there were daffodils and foxgloves, all over the meadows… Dancing..."

"England is good." Bakura spoke over Ryou. "Ignore him." He sighed to Nakamura. "He's a bit delirious. Hasn't been quite right since…" His throat closed.

"Amane would weave daisy chain crowns… We'd wear them and pretend to be prince and princess…" Bakura watched as Ryou tensed up, biting his lip.

"Don't think about her." He ordered, tightening his hold on Ryou's hand. Ryou sniffed, and nodded. "Good boy."

"Don't think about who?" Nakamura couldn't help but ask. Bakura sighed, casting his eyes to the ceiling for a moment.

"His sister." The yami explained. "She died a long time ago." Ryou's hand tightened on Bakura's. "Have you found a place for us or anything?" Bakura changed the subject, narrowing his eyes. Nakamura nodded.

"Representatives of the English government have allowed you and Ryou to reside in one of their witness protection homes in London until they find you a flat." Nakamura glanced down at his paper. Bakura blinked.

"Wow… Really? Why are they being so nice to us?"

"Ryou's an English citizen." Nakamura explained. "It's where he was born, and raised. He has full citizenship for England, and only partial citizenship for Japan, so he's their responsibility. And because you two had a civil union eighteen months ago, you're legally his partner. And… Hey." He shrugged. "Compassion as well. The woman I spoke to saw the fake news report and she's very sorry for you." Bakura bit his lip, lowering his eyes.

"So… We go to England. London. A new home, new names, and all that shit… But." Bakura's voice almost went hoarse. "Malik and Marik… Please. I told the doctor, and he said he would contact you. Did he?" Nakamura let out a long, closing his eyes.

"I hoped you had forgotten." He sighed, twiddling his fingers anxiously. "I… Oh hell, how do I say this."

"Just say it." Bakura growled, his heart starting to beat faster. Was he going to say what he thought he was? _No..._

"We checked the house, but we were too late. We found a blood splatter on the kitchen floor, but it wasn't large. We ran some tests, and found that it matched to both Malik and Marik Ishtar. Are they twins?" Bakura nodded, feeling sick.

"Then they're both gone." He whispered. "I…"

"No." Bakura looked up, wide-eyed at Nakamura. "Malik Ishtar is alive and well. We found him at his sister and brothers' house a mile away. He's extremely distressed, but will be fine. All three are going into a protection program until we find Sadahiro."

"Marik's gone." Bakura whispered, closing his eyes. "Fuck. Can I call Malik? I need to-"

"No." Nakamura said firmly. "You can't call him. He thinks you and Ryou are dead, and he needs to keep thinking that. Imagine what would happen if Sadahiro found him, and Malik gave the slip about you being alive?" Bakura bit his lip. "Exactly."

"So…" The yami sighed. "When do we go to England or wherever?" Nakamura shrugged.

"Whenever Ryou's able to walk." He replied. Bakura bit his lip, looking over at the trembling whitenette.

"Kura?" Ryou asked softly. The white-haired male jumped. He looked over at the trembling male, and his expression softened. "When am I gonna try walk, then?" Bakura raised his eyes a little, before looking back down at Ryou, tightening his hold on the whitenette's hand.

"Not for a while." He said softly. "You're still in a lot of pain, Ryou. That's the reason why you're sleeping so much. They had to hook you up to shitloads of morphine. They said it'll be ages before they can take you off." Ryou shook his head.

"No… I wanna go off… Feel bad." Bakura sighed.

"Ryou, if you go off, do you know how you would feel? Practically all of the skin and muscles on your back have been burned off. There was bone damage, Ryou. Bone damage." Bakura dig his nails into Ryou's bandaged hand. The whitenette gritted his teeth. "And your hands and eyes… You're hurting all over. I know you feel like shit, but you would be so much worse if you were taken off."

"No…"

"He's right." Two sets of heads looked up as the doctor closed the door behind him, and Ryou tensed his hands on Bakura's. "Ryou, it's been over thirty hours… We have to change your bandages, okay?" Ryou whimpered, and shook his head.

"Do you have to?" Bakura bit his lip, looking down at Ryou. He was met with a gentle nod. "Crap."

"Kura…" Ryou whispered softly. "Don't let him, please, I don't wanna move anything, it hurts…" Bakura's heart broke as Ryou tried struggling, and he held on tightly to the whitenette's hand.

"Pull the bed closer to me." Bakura instructed, staring at Ryou. "I'll help keep him calm." The doctor nodded, gently rolling Ryou's bed so they touched. Bakura bit his lip, and sat up, looking down over Ryou.

"Ryou, you have to sit up." The doctor ordered. "I'll be back in a moment with the medical equipment." Ryou moaned, and shook his head, clinging to Bakura's hand.

"Fuck…" Bakura sighed. "Nakamura, he's being stubborn. You'll have to help me." The detective blinked, and stood up. "Just… Come roll him over a little bit so he can sit up. But don't touch his back. Fuck it's a mess…" Nakamura nodded weakly, walking over to the side of the bed.

"What about skin grafts?" The detective asked, gently taking Ryou's forearm. The whitenette whimpered, flinching away. Bakura sighed.

"Apparently, not til we get to England, They want to get a match to Ryou's skin colour, which is extremely rare in Japan. Huh, apparently, they know what they're doing…" Bakura gently took Ryou's other arm, and they both lifted Ryou up. The male yelped, sobbing weakly as he was pulled into a sitting position, his legs splayed in front of him. Ryou tried to keep as back as still as possible, whimpering.

"Kura…" He whispered weakly. "Kura, it hurts..." Bakura let out a long sigh of sympathy, squeezing Ryou's hand again. "Please…"

"Back." The doctor sighed, dragging the little trolley behind him. It was piled with bandages. "Good, you got Ryou to sit up." Bakura nodded as Nakamura let go of the male, standing back.

"Please don't." Ryou whispered, closing his eyes as the doctor started unwrapping the bandages that thickly covered his back. Bakura bit his lip, still holding Ryou. He caressed the whitenette's hand, leaning forward to gently whisper soothing words into Ryou's ear.

"Christ." Nakamura froze when he got a glimpse of Ryou's back for the first time. It was horrible, a mess of blood and flesh and bone. Bakura nodded weakly, not looking at Ryou's back. Instead, he looked at Ryou's face, who was biting on his lip hard in order to not cry out.

"That's good…" Bakura whispered, holding Ryou's hand. You're doing so well…" Out of the corner of his eye, the yami spied the doctor, pouring alcohol onto a small sponge. "No." He hissed. "You're not…"

"We need to keep the wound clean, Bakura." He sighed, leaning over Ryou. "Now this is going to hurt a little…" The whitenette whimpered, starting to shake. It turned into a scream as the doctor applied the alcohol onto his back, and he gripped Bakura's hand hard, almost breaking his fingers.

"Shit!" Bakura gasped, trying to comfort Ryou as best as he could, sprawled out across both beds. "Shit." He repeated, biting his lip. Ryou was sobbing as the alcohol seeped into the raw, exposed flesh, cleaning out any risk he had of infection.

"This is a good thing, Ryou." The doctor said gently. "And also, we're keeping the wound as open as we can, which is important."

"How?" Bakura demanded. "Why the fuck aren't you letting it heal, huh?" The doctor sighed.

"Because if Ryou is going to have donor skin and tissue on his back, then we can't let his wounds start to heal, or we would have to cut them back." Bakura sighed, staring at the bandages over Ryou's eye-sockets. The doctor had finished applying the alcohol, and started to wrap fresh, clean bandages over his back.

"You're so brave." Bakura whispered gently, daring to trail one finger over Ryou's cheek. The whitenette leaned into the touch. "I'm so proud of you…"

"All done." The doctor announced, standing back. Bakura nodded, staring at Ryou's face. "Now we need to do the eyes…" Nakamura's eyes widened, and he turned away.

"Smart move." Bakura muttered, lowering his gaze as well. He didn't say anything to Ryou, who whimpered gently. "So Doc… If you can put a new back on Ryou's eyes, then why can't you give him new eyes?"

"Because…" He started unrolling the bandages on Ryou's face. "It's much more complicated than that, Bakura. The surgery is just far too complex. I'm sorry, but the best I can do is recommend glass eyes once he gets some donor skin for eyelids. Just so it'll look less obvious."

"No." Ryou whispered, tightening Bakura's hand. "B-But… I-I wanna see again…" Bakura sighed, gently caressing Ryou's hand once more.

"I know you do." He said gently, feeling tears push at the back of his eyes. "And I'm so sorry that you can't, Ryou. But there's nothing anyone can do about it… But you know that I'll be here for you, right?" He gripped Ryou's hand tighter. "You're not gonna be alone, Ryou. You know that. You've got me." Despite his pain and misery, Ryou smiled, just a little bit. The yami didn't look as the last of the bandages were pulled from Ryou's eye-sockets, and fresh ones were applied.

"Done." The doctor stood back. "I'll come in tonight, and have a look at Ryou's hands." Bakura nodded. "Ryou, can you make your left hand into a fist, for me?"

"U-Umm…" Ryou stretched out his left hand, which was heavily bandaged, and wrapped in a cast. "I'll try…" He flattened his palm, and easily curled his thumb and pinky inwards. The whitenette gasped, gritting his teeth, but his three middle fingers only twitched a little at the tips. "I-It's…. Really tight." He gasped. "I-In the palm…"

"That's okay." The doctor said. "The donor tendons you received are very tightly strung, but after a few months of physiotherapy, they should be fine. It's good to see you still have feeling. Are they numb at all?" Ryou shook his head.

"No." He said gently. "Just tight." Bakura held his good hand harder, before raising the slim, pale fingers to his lips. The doctor nodded, and started gathering the old bandages on his trolley. Bakura watched him go.

"I went to your apartment this morning." Nakamura said gently, sitting back down in his seat, rifling around in his suitcase. "They're packing everything up for you, and it's going to be shipped out to England. I held back some clothes for you two, though, but I don't know if it's what you wear…"

"That's fine." Bakura said gently. "Thanks for doing that for us. Was there any mail, or anything?" Nakamura's eyes widened, and he rifled through his case.

"Yes!" He muttered. "Yes, there was… It was a letter to Ryou. And… It's amazing…"

"Who is it from?" Bakura demanded. Ryou's hand was tense in his.

"Marik Ishtar." The detective blinked. Bakura froze.

"Marik… Marik didn't even like Ryou! He always said he was a little shit who never did as he was told… Give it." Bakura held his free hand out expectantly, glaring at Nakamura. The detective complied, standing up and handing Bakura the letter, who wrenched his hand out of Ryou's to tear it open.

"What does it say?" Ryou asked as Bakura tugged out the single sheet of white paper. "Bakura?" The yami frowned at the letter, which only had bore two words in Marik's spidery, sprawling writing.

_I'm sorry_.

"It says I'm sorry." Bakura muttered. "And that's it… I don't get it. What did Marik do? Why is he… Ryou?" He looked over to Ryou, who had started to shake.

_No way... No. It's not... It wasn't him. Was it? What if it... Oh God._

"He…" Ryou tried to breathe, but his chest felt tight, and hollow. He felt like he couldn't breathe. "A-All those years ago…" _It... It makes sense. As sick and twisted as it is, it makes sense_…

"It what?" Bakura demanded, hating being left out of the loop. "Ryou… _Tell_ me!" Ryou started hyperventilating, holding a hand over his chest. It was amazing. After all of these years, thinking it was a faceless male… It _wasn't_.

"Th-The person who raped me." Ryou felt… Relieved, partly. "It… It was… It _had_ to be. Wh-What else could he be sorry for?" Bakura frowned.

"Are you saying what I think you are?" Ryou's chin trembled as he nodded, and he twisted his hands together.

"All those years ago… I-It was Marik…"

* * *

"Kura?"

The sky outside was a deep velvety black, vacant except for the occasional pinpricks of stars, light that was able to penetrate the heavy light pollution that hovered over the city. Bakura groaned, opening his crimson orbs a crack to look over at the male. Ryou was curled on his side in the gurney, but his head was lifted slightly, looking over to the yami.

"Ryou…" Bakura groaned. He propped himself up on his elbows, rubbing at his eyes. He cast a glace over to the clock, and blinked "Shit. It's 2AM. Why aren't you asleep?"

"I can't." Ryou said softly. "There's just too much going around in my head for me to sleep. I can't stop thinking about Marik. What if Sadahiro has killed him, Bakura?"

"Why do you care." The yami muttered. "You say that he was the one that raped you. When I get my hands on Marik, I swear to God, I am going to…" He let the thread dangle in mid-air, and bit on his lip hard.

"But… Part of me…" Ryou let out a long sigh. "Part of me is just a little bit… Well… _happy._" The yami raised an eyebrow, and then frowned at the whitenette. "I-I mean," Ryou explained. "You know how important my virginity was back then, Bakura. Even though it seemed like you hated me, I was saving myself for you. And to have that taken away by someone who was completely random and unknown…" Ryou let out a long sigh. "I-It really hurt, Bakura. And I just kept thinking about that person, for months and months. I-I know that we did sleep together a couple of weeks after Kiyoshi died, A-And that was wonderful Bakura, really. But it just wasn't the same as if it would have been my first time… I'm sorry." Ryou's voice was small and lost, and Bakura's heart ached.

"Don't be sorry." He muttered gently, stretching out his hand. He found Ryou's, which was flung over the side of the bed, and started tracing little circles in the lights' palm. "It's not your fault, Ryou. How can you be blamed for being raped? If it was Marik, then you would have been so powerless. He's really strong. Stronger than me, even. And I know you were scared when we slept together that night, but you were still pretty brave." Bakura tightened his hold on Ryou's hand. "You are brave, Ryou. You're brave because you ran away from Kanaye. Because you managed to drag my ass out of a burning building when you were in shock. Ryou, look at yourself. You're alive. That's a feat in itself. They said that you were going to die, but you're not. You didn't. You pulled through and that's what makes you a real fighter. And I know you're scared about not seeing again, but you're still taking it do well."

"I am scared." Ryou's voice was low, and he sounded close to tears. "Bakura… All I can think about is how everything's going to be so dark from now on. I'm never going to see anything again…" Bakura bit his lip, and tightened his hand on Ryou's. "And our life… We're leaving everyone behind. Malik, workmates, my classmates in college… _Dad_." He let out a choked sob, clinging to Bakura's hand. "Dad thinks I'm dead… How can they do that, Bakura? H-How can they just say that I'm dead like that? He… He must be so upset." Ryou buried his head in the pillow. "Our lives are over…"

"No." Bakura whispered. "Ryou, don't be like that. It's not all over. You're going back to live in England. We're going to have a nice little flat, all to ourselves. And when you've been sleeping, I've been talking with Nakamura. They'll arrange carers and money and everything for us until we get back on our feet. It's going to be great, you'll see Ryou."

"I… I can't go to college." Ryou's voice was muffled from the pillow. "Th-They wont accept me if I'm blind, Bakura. I can't finish the courses and get my degree…" Bakura watched helplessly as Ryou trembled, sobbing weakly. He just felt so sorry for the male. Ever since he was about twelve, Ryou wanted to be a psychiatrist, for reasons he never told Bakura. It was heartbreaking to think of Ryou's dream being shattered.

"That's not true." Bakura tried to be comforting. "I mean, what is college? Sitting around and listening to lectures? I'm sure you could sit in on those. And if you couldn't, they might tape them for you." Ryou sighed, sniffing.

"But… If I do get my degree, then what good will it be?" Ryou muttered morosely. "Ever heard of a blind psychiatrist?" Bakura groaned.

"Ryou… As far as I know, all psychiatrists do is listen or talk. We can sort something out, okay?" Ryou nodded weakly, not believing Bakura. "Hey, listen, I know it's hard. I don't know if you realize Ryou, but I'm not going to be able to walk for a freaking year. Do you think that's not hard?"

"Try being blind." Ryou whispered weakly. "How… How can this happen to us, Kura? How could someone bring themselves to hurt us like this?" Ryou hugged the pillow with his free hand, sniffing. Bakura bit his lip, not knowing what to say.

"Ryou… I know you're not happy about this." He whispered. "Do you think I am? If I had one wish, it would be to turn back the clock and stop all of this. But we can't do that. I'm so sorry."

"It sucks." Ryou muttered. "I don't want a new life. I wanna go home…"

"I know you do." Bakura muttered. "But we can't go home. We have to go to a new home… I'm sorry." He finished, staring at Ryou. "You… You understand, don't you?" Ryou nodded weakly clinging to Bakura's hand.

"I understand, 'Kura." Ryou said softly. "I just don't like it, is all. It's hard to come to terms with."

"I know." Bakura whispered. "But I'm gonna be at your side, every step of the way. You're not gonna be alone, okay?" Ryou smiled weakly, and nodded. "Good. Now get some sleep. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow." Ryou nodded, snuggling down under the covers. Bakura continued to grasp Ryou's hand as the whitenette gently drifted off to sleep, staring at Ryou's chest as it went up and down in deep, even grasps. Bakura smiled softly, settling into the mattress as best as he could. He pulled the blankets up to his chin, and buried his nose in the pillow. He was asleep in fifteen minutes, exhaustion and fatigue giving way into a deep, dreamless slumber.

But he never let go of Ryou's hand.

* * *

_His head hurt..._

_Marik groaned as he came to, a terrible throbbing in his temples. He blinked rapidly, trying to see. _

_It was dark._

_The Egyptian frowned, and looked around. He bit his lip as he looked down at his hands, which were bound tightly with a thick knotted rope. He gasped, amethyst eyes widened, He made to sit up, when he was hit hard on the head. _

_Ow! He fell back on the floor, groaning. The space was so tiny... Marik winced as he was occasionally bumped and jolted around. It was a full minute before Marik realized that he was in the trunk of a car, trussed up like a chicken with a bleeding temple. Not only that, but there was a gag tied tightly around his mouth._

_Marik's scream was muffled, but it was still loud. The Egyptian struggled as hard as he could, but his resistance was futile. His heart was thudding in his chest, and he was almost hyperventilating. Marik slumped in the bottom of the trunk, still. He didn't know where he was going, or who was driving the car. He had no idea at all._

_But he knew it was **not** going to be good when the car stopped._

* * *

And... It's over! YAY! Sort of. Bwahaha.

I'm still debating whether or not I'm going to do a part three... -thinks- Hehehe.

And, for one more time, R&R!


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